Think Deep
by Furor Paxx
Summary: Rated for swearing. When Donatello meets a strange boy, the turtles discover an entirely new side of the world, but not in time to save it...
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles do not belong to me, or anyone I know for that matter. Any characters from the series featured in this story belong to someone else and I'm not even going to try claiming them. Any irregular characters, however, do belong to me and you can bet you woolen underwear that I claim them.  
  
**A/N. Just so you know, I am an idiot. What else could I be if I'm trying to write a fanfic about a TV show I've never even seen? I hope I don't skewer the dudes too badly, I'm forming their attitudes from other people's work- yeah, you people are my inspiration. And you're more than welcome to make suggestions, I'm afraid that I only know of five characters in TMNT, the turtles and Splinter... oh, yeah, you can definitely tell how good this story will be.  
  
If I haven't completely put you off of this story- good. I write better if I'm free to alter the characters to my whim. Want proof? Read on, Believers... Read on.**  
  
"Aw, admit it dude, you're a wuss."  
  
"I am not and I will not admit it. A moron like you couldn't possibly appreciate the true meaning of the story."  
  
"Whatever. That still doesn't change the fact that you were crying over that movie."  
  
"It was very beautifully written. A young girl who rebels against the oppressive rule of her father to cross the species barrier and find true love. It's classic."  
  
"I hate to tell you this, Don, but it's The Little Mermaid."  
  
"So? Besides, I've read the book."  
  
"The book... now that's a bit obsessive isn't it?"  
  
"In the original story, her name is Marina and she ends up dieing because her love of the prince won't let her kill him."  
  
"Riiiiight. Dude, more pizza."  
  
Donatello sighed and passed a greasy pizza box to his brother. Sometimes he wished Raphael had a bit more sophistication. He looked at Rapheal, who was wolfing down another slice of pizza and nearly gagged. A lot more sophistication.  
  
"You guys ever want to try something other than pizza? Like real food?"  
  
Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo all looked at Donatello. "But pizza IS real food."  
  
"No. It isn't. Real food is like... like..."  
  
His three brothers grinned, smirked and smiled, respectively, as they waited for him to continue.  
  
"Like burgers and fries. Hot dogs... real food."  
  
"Fast food?"  
  
"No. You can fix them at home too."  
  
"Bright idea, Einstein. How?"  
  
Donatello looked around the drained sewer pipe that they called home.  
  
"Okay, better idea. Chinese food is real food. Let's try Chinese."  
  
"Nah, my stomach doesn't agree with change." Leonardo reached over the battered couch and Raphael for a peice of the greasy, oozey, toxic looking pizza.  
  
"Well if you insist on pizza, why not something with a bit more real stuff on it and less chemicals?"  
  
"What is it with you and stuff being real all of a sudden?" Michelangelo asked. "What's wrong with our pizza?"  
  
"Or does Donny think he's above such things?" Raphael put in.  
  
Donatello just threw his hands in the air and shook his head on his way to the door.  
  
"Where ya goin'?"  
  
"Out." he answered as he picked up his staff.  
  
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~  
  
Donatello checked the street carefully before he crawled out of the sewer. Once in the open, he stretched out all the kinks in his muscles and began plotting the fastest course to the top of the building he was standing by.   
  
With a few well placed jumps, assisted by his staff, Donatello was standing on the roof, bathing in the glory of a bright moon. A cool breeze rustled the ends of his purple headband and for a while he was free of the restraints of his being.  
  
But of course, it always led back to that.  
  
Donatello sighed and didn't even bother fighting the resentment, the bitter hate and the painful tears. He didn't bother because the more he fought with it, the longer the depression would last, and Donatello ~never~ got depressed. Or at least that was the image he had built. Why was anyone's guess. If he couldn't tell his brothers, who could he tell? No one, because everyone else would run or shoot at him or something along those lines.  
  
See, there it goes again.  
  
"It's not like I asked to be like this. I don't want to live in a sewer and eat imitation pizza all the time." He said out loud.  
  
"Who said you have to? There are people out there who couldn't care less if you're a human sized turtle." A small voice answered his.  
  
"But it's too risky to find them. I know that some people can rise above that, but most can't. It wouldn't be safe."  
  
"Define safe. Everyone dies eventually. All safe does is prolong the inevitable. Why are you suffering? You're safe, right? You have a roof over your head, food in your stomach and you can keep yourself company. See what safe gets you?"  
  
Donatello frowned. It was true in a way he'd never admitted to himself. Sure, there were fights against Shredder and other bad guys that sometimes left the brothers pretty banged up, but yeah, they were safe in the sewers. Admitting that to himself didn't help ease the discomfort he felt at that particular line of reasoning. Where it came from was a mystery that he hoped he never solved.  
  
"It's just that everything is starting to feel so artificial. The same fights with the same people. The same arguements over the same things..."  
  
"You want a change." Donatello sat on a wooden crate. "You want to stay safe, but you don't want to know that it's safe. Or do you just want to be human?"  
  
It hurt him to hear that. It wasn't exactly true, but he did want to be one or the other, either a turtle or a human, not some freak hybrid.  
  
"I want to fit in somewhere." He responded.  
  
"No you don't." The voice laughed. "You're just bored with your life now and want something new. Get over it. Everyone goes through that phase and everyone regrets it later. Make a fool of yourself now so you won't be tormented about it later. Trust me. It's a torture that you do not want to experience. I think you're wanted..."  
  
Donatello dimly registered Leonardo calling his name, but didn't answer. "This was enlightening, self. We should have more heart-to-hearts more often."  
  
"No problem. I'm always here."  
  
Donatello stood wearily and plodded to the side of the building. "I'm coming, I'm coming." He jumped over the side to join Raphael, who was just on his way up.  
  
On the rooftop, a pair of eyes watched him leave. "A human sized turtle that philosophizes... interesting. I probably should have shown myself, the poor bastard's gonna start talking to himself and expecting answers now." The figure chuckled. "Oh well. Who cares?" The person sat on the crate that Donatello had just vacated. "Damn. Who am I kidding?"   
  
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~  
  
They were all back in the sewers, heading back home much more slowly than they had left.  
  
"I don't get it. How're we supposed to help if you won't let us know what's wrong?"  
  
"Maybe I don't need help. Maybe I'm just working my way through this alone."  
  
"C'mon Donny, this isn't like you. You're scaring all of us. Master Splinter nearly had a heart attack when he found out you left by yourself."  
  
"I can take care of myself." Donatello said, irritated.  
  
"We know you can handle just about anything on the streets, dude. We're just worried that you can't handle what's going on in your head."  
  
"You don't know what's going on in my head."  
  
"That's my point. You won't tell us."  
  
"Another damn circle." Don muttered.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Look Raphael. I'm fine. Just doing a little soul searching, y'know."  
  
"Soul searching? We'll help. We're good at finding stuff, aren't we boys?"   
  
Leo and Michelangelo had been silent the whole time.  
  
"As long as you don't do anything crazy, you can search as many souls as you want, man. Just snap out of it soon 'kay?" Leo said and Mike nodded.  
  
"Don't do anything spacey, like change on us." he added.  
  
"I won't." Donatello answered with a smile. "But if you really want to help me..."  
  
"Nope. We're having pizza, and not for love or money will try some of that totally uncool stuff you were talking about." Raphael anticipated Donatello's request and shot it to peices.  
  
"Just this-"  
  
"Nope."  
  
Don sighed again. It would have shocked him if they'd agreed anyway.  
  
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~  
  
Later that night, Don stared up at the ceiling wishing he could see the stars. There was no way he could sneak outside, not if Master Splinter was worried enough to send the others after him. Raphael was probably sleeping right beside Don's door.  
  
"Bored with life... the more I think about it, the truer it seems." He sat on the bed, legs crossed, all illusion of sleepyness gone.  
  
"That's how it goes. It's pretty deep stuff." The voice was back and Donatello welcomed it with a smile. A sad smile, but it was a smile.  
  
"Any more insights?" He asked.  
  
"Yep, but I'm starving. Lucky for both of us, I'm a genius and brought some food with me."  
  
Donatello blinked. A match was lit and in the dimlight, Don could see a hand lift it to light a cigarette.  
  
"Don't smoke. It's bad for you." The voice said, and this time, Donatello identitied it with the person in front of him. "Name's Gaton Tair. Pleased to make your acquaintance."  
  
"I'm Donatello. Um. How'd you get in here?"  
  
"Through the door."  
  
"Um... When?"  
  
"Today. Don't ask me questions like that. I simply refuse to answer them. Now, do you want a BLT sub or the Philly Steak and Cheese?"  
  
Donatello just stared, completely awestruck. "Does anyone else know that you're here?"  
  
"The god of the sewer does. I think I want the BLT so you can have it and I'll eat the other."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Reverse psychology. I know that whatever I want to eat now will make me sick later." Gaton handed Don the wrapped sub.  
  
"Really?" Donatello accepted the package, still mystified by the stranger.  
  
"Yeah. You're very articulate today, or are you just a morning person?"  
  
It took Don a moment to catch the sarcasm. "It's just..."  
  
"Startling? Yeah, I know. I have that effect on people. Mutated turtles are no exception. Did you know I had a red eared slider named Donatello? Things got rough at home and I had to leave, so I set him free."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. That was in South Carolina, though. I'm not even sure that turtle was a guy. There's suposed to be some way you can tell by looking at their tails, but I wanted to name the little guy Donatello so bad that I pretended he was male. Or she. Whatever."  
  
Donatello marvelled at the way Gaton could smoke and chew at the same time.  
  
Gaton gave a short laugh. "You're a funny one, all right. Did you know that turtle are sexless until about a week before they're born? The temperature of the environment is a pretty big factor in whether most of them will hatch as males or females. Once again, I forget the tiny little detail of which determines which. I think it's funny how I can remember crazy things like the fact that the letter e is the most used letter in the alphabet, but can't remember the day or what the second most used letter is. Weird, huh?"  
  
"Not really. It's a proven fact that aimless trivia sticks better than important things. It all depends on your interest in the topic, I guess."  
  
"Impressive, Three whole sentences."  
  
"Wow, you actually shut your mouth long enough for me to say them."  
  
They both started laughing.  
  
"So. Now that we have that out of the way, it's time for the important questions."  
  
"Like?"  
  
"Like 'what's your favorite color?' Well, never mind. It's obviously purple. Next one is... How old are you? Oh, and my favorite color's black and I'll turn sixteen in two months."  
  
"How cool it that? I'm sixteen."  
  
"What? Why is everyone older than me?"  
  
"So they can pick on you of course. My turn, What do you do for fun?"  
  
"I creep people out and pick up meaningless facts."  
  
"I fight bad guys and work in my lab."  
  
"Cool. Uh, what's one thing you would like the world to know?"  
  
"Just one? Well, everything, I guess."  
  
"Fair enough. I would tell them that they're not alone on earth and that something big is coming to tip the scales back for Mother Earth."  
  
"Is there?"  
  
"Is where?"  
  
"Is there something coming?"  
  
"Everything is either coming or going or not moving at all."  
  
"You're avoiding the question."  
  
"Am I?"  
  
"Are you?"  
  
"Okay, yes."  
  
"Yes what?'  
  
"Yes to your question."  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"The one you asked."  
  
"We aren't getting very far here."  
  
"We aren't are we?"  
  
Donatello took a bite of the sub.  
  
"I get it."  
  
"You get what."  
  
"This is one of those things where you didn't tell me anything, right."  
  
"Oooh, the turtle's got some kind of grey matter."  
  
"Thanks. I get the feeling that's the closest to a compliment that I'll get from you."  
  
"Just about." Don could practically hear him smile and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence.  
  
"You believe in God?" Gaton asked abruptly.  
  
"I never thought much of it."  
  
"Don't."  
  
"Don't what?"  
  
"Don't think about it much. Either follow religion with every fibre of your being or don't follow it at all."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Good."  
  
"You're from South Carolina?"  
  
"Not originally. I was born in Germany. My dad was in the US military when he met my mom."  
  
"Do you travel a lot?"  
  
"I do now. Things went bad at home and I left. I've been travelling all over the place since then."  
  
"I think I want to travel one day."  
  
"It's no fun if you've got a lot of stuff to take with you. Drags you down."  
  
"Yeah? I was thinking Spain or France, but I only speak English so..." Don shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter. How would I get there?"  
  
"Almost all other countries teach their children four major languages, Latin, French, Spanish and English. And they learn their native language as well."  
  
"How many languages do you know?"  
  
"Victorian, Shakespearean, Street and Punk. And I can have a simple conversation in German and Spanish."  
  
"Ah, so you read a lot."  
  
"Yeah. Classics aren't really my thing, but they were among the first chapter books I read."  
  
There was the sound of someone yawning outside.  
  
"That's my cue to leave. Had a blast. See ya soon. Bye." Gaton opened the door wide and walked out. Donatello scurried after him to see if anyone noticed, but his passage was unnoticed.  
  
"What's that smell?" Raphael asked. He sniffed several times. "Smells like smoke."  
  
In the threshold of his room, Donatello gasped and slammed the door shut. Raphael and Leonardo shared a disturbed look.  
  
Donatello didn't care. He was balling up the sub wrappers, taking care not to spill the ashes on the floor.  
  
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~  
  
For three days Donatello secretly searched for Gaton but on the fourth day, he decided that Gaton had just been looking for a place to spend the night. Splinter and Don's brothers were relieved when the sounds of an explosion shook his lab. Things were back to normal.  
  
Except Donatello wasn't eating like he used to and he slept less and less. He acted the same, but soon he began to lose weight and his skin was noticably darker.  
  
"This is just great. As soon as we get him to start acting normal, he goes bulemic on us."  
  
"Don't even joke about that, Raphael. It's not funny at all." Michelangelo said darkly.  
  
"It isn't." Splinter had entered the room during the exchange and the two turtles jumped up and offered him their chairs. "No, I'm fine. But I fear we forced this on Donatello."  
  
"How? We didn't do anything."  
  
"We made him feel as though he had to remain as he was, that he couldn't change. He is trying so hard to keep us happy, that he is becoming sickly."  
  
Even Raphael was silent at that. Now that he thought about it, Don's rare smiles seemed strained and he looked like he was forcing himself to eat the bare minimum just to survive.  
  
"So how do we fix it?"  
  
"I do not know, my son. I honestly do not know."  
  
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~  
  
Donatello tossed and turned that night. He couldn't get comfortable.  
  
"Did you know that many beauty products are made of fish scales?"  
  
In the darkness, Donatello smiled.  
  
"No, I didn't."  
  
"Now you do."  
  
Don sat up, trying to shake off his exhaustion and knowing that even on his best day, he would never be able to keep up with Gaton's sharp wit.  
  
"It's cool. Lie back down. I just popped in to let you know I'm not dead. It's been a crazy few days, can you believe I almost got shot. It was insane. Some hitman thought I was some guy's informant and started sh-"  
  
"But you're okay? Where was this-"  
  
"Chill. It happens all the time. And I'm here, right?"  
  
"You got shot, didn't you." Donatello reached for the lamp, but Gaton stopped him.  
  
"No, I didn't. I broke my arm." The confession came slowly, as though Gaton didn't really want to admit it.  
  
"How, what happened?"  
  
"I... I was bench-pressing weights and when I thought I put it back on the stand, it slipped and dragged me off the bench. I landed weird." Gaton sounded so embarrassed that Don wanted to laugh. "Stop grinning. It's not funny."  
  
"How bad does it hurt?"  
  
"Not half as much as my pride, thank you very much. You got a tan or something? Why's your skin so dark?"  
  
Donatello paused. The room was pitch black, how could Gaton see what color his skin was?  
  
"The dude out there said you haven't been eating. That why? They're afraid you're anorexic. Not a very pleasant thing to have your family think. They start treating you funny and suddenly there's at least one family member everywhere you go. No privacy at all."  
  
"I'm just not hungry."  
  
"Shut up and eat." Gaton pressed a box in Don's hands. "How many fingers do you have?"  
  
"Three."  
  
"Good. There's no chance of you being able to use chopsticks better than me."  
  
"You probably don't even know how to use them."  
  
"I thought I told you to shut up and eat. It's some kind of Lo Mein, I think. I forgot. All I know is that its got noodles and stuff in it. Water chesnuts. I think an occasional carrot and a few other vegetables. I just heard someone mention you liked chinese food the other day when you guys were running the town and figured I pick some up."  
  
"Thanks. You pick a lot up, don't you?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, I just listen, that's all. You can learn more about a person by listening to them than by asking them. You think you guys can stay down here tomorrow night?"  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Don't ask me any questions like that."  
  
"I don't know. If I try to get everyone to stay down here, they'll leave just because they can."  
  
"They're worried about you. Just tell them you had a premonition or something."  
  
"Is someone going to get hurt?"  
  
"If you guys go up there, yes. Don't worry. This has nothing to do with you in specific. It's just people fighting over something they can't have. I've taken it upon myself to warn as many people as possible to stay away."  
  
"Well if we can stop-"  
  
"You can't. You remember I didn't tell you that something big is coming?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Good. I gotta go now. Work and stuff. You get some sleep. I'll be back on Thursday or I won't be back at all." Gaton disappeared with that last comment and left Donatello wondering just what exactly was going on.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next day, Donatello was slow getting up. Gaton had thrown the boxes away, so he didn't have to worry about explaining them to his brothers. Donatello thought about Gaton. He said a lot of weird things. Sometimes it felt like he wanted to be straightforwaed with Donatello, but he felt as though he couldn't. And there remained the question of how he got around so easily. There were just too many questions about Gaton that Don couldn't answer.  
  
Donatello dragged himself from bed. 'Man, I feel terrible. Was it the food?' Donatello stumbled out of his room and saw Michelangelo moving just as painfully. 'Maybe not.' Donatello decided. Besides, now that he thought about it, his stomach didn't hurt. The dull ache was in his bones.   
  
Raphael was still asleep on the couch, and Leonardo was in his room. Master Splinter was nowhere to be found.  
  
"So, you too?" Mike asked, raising a weary eyebrow at his brother.  
  
"Yeah. Maybe we've got a bug or something."  
  
"I feel like I over did it a little with the weights. Man, I haven't felt this bad since... well... ever."  
  
Donatello made a noncommitted noise in answer. He was too tired to think of a response.  
  
"Since its just us, I was thinking... maybe we should talk."  
  
"You have that much energy?"  
  
"About this, yeah. You've been acting weird lately and we're all worried."  
  
Donatello's mind flashed back to what Gaton had told him. 'They're afraid you're bulemic.'  
  
"It's nothing serious."  
  
"Yes, it is. When was the last time you looked in the mirror, Don? It's like you shrank into yourself. When was the last time you got any rest? You go on as if nothing's wrong, but we can see you wasting away. What's going on?"  
  
Donatello wondered why he was so reluctant to tell Mike about Gaton. There wasn't even a real reason that he could think of, except maybe... he didn't want to share Gaton with them.   
  
"Its just, suddenly what we have doesn't seem good enough for me. I need a change."  
  
"You know that doesn't work for us. What can we change? Eating different food won't make it better."  
  
"I know. That's what I can't stand. We didn't ask for this. Why do we have to endure it?"  
  
"Because we won't just kill ourselves."  
  
They fell into silence for a while.  
  
"Where's Master Splinter?"  
  
"He went above ground for a while."  
  
Donatello snapped his head towards Mike, all traces of weariness gone.  
  
"He -what-? Why would he do that?"  
  
Michelangelo was taken aback by Don's outburst.  
  
"It's not like I question him before he leaves. He's Master Splinter, for crying out loud. He can take care of himself."  
  
"This isn't good."  
  
"What? What do you mean by that?"  
  
Donatello growled to himself. Should he go after the Master, or should he trust that nothing would happen to him? What if Gaton was wrong? Going out there would be no big deal. But if he was right then Splinter could be in trouble. And if the brothers went to get him, then they would too.  
  
Someone coughed politely and Don and Mike jumped at the sound. They sheepishly turned around, waiting to hear Raph start talking crap again. Instead, they saw a man standing there. Hovering behind him was Master Splinter.  
  
"Donatello, I presume?" He said to Mike, not realizing his error.  
  
"I don't like your voice." Raphael said. He was awake and had his weapons ready.  
  
"That doesn't concern me. I'm looking for Donatello."  
  
"That's me." Mike said, playing along.  
  
"Excellent." The man smiled. "Gaton wishes to see you. Your companions may join you."  
  
"Who's Gat-"  
  
"You're lying. If you weren't, you'd know that we're brothers." The real Donatello interupted.  
  
The man looked at him with an unpleasant smile. "If you insist on playing detective, fine. That doesn't hide the fact that I have something you want..." He waved a hand at Splinter. "Shall we go now?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Donatello could see no alternative, so he followed the stranger accompaied by his brothers. None of them said anything, but the stranger kept the silence filled with mindless chatter, much akin to Gaton's ramblings. In fact, Donatello thought to himself, the only difference is that Gaton usually babbles pointless facts. This guy just babbles.  
  
"I can sense one of you thinking of Gaton in specific, but I admit I'm at a loss as to identifying you. How do you tell each other apart?"  
  
"Pheromones." Donatello muttered. He could tell that his brothers wanted to know why the stranger wanted him and who Gaton was, but the first thing on their minds was Master Splinter.  
  
"Ah, yes. A primitive tracking device, but usable. One cannot blame you for working with what you have." His tone made the Turtles' blood boil, but they kept their opinions to themselves.  
  
More mindnumbing talk and wandering through the pipes followed. Finally they stopped under a manhole and the man looked up. "Up." he commanded, and when the Turtles didn't comply, he looked pointedly at the hovering Master. Reluctantly, the brothers climbed the ladder and left the sewers.  
  
What if someone's up there? What if we're seen? Donatello nearly panicked when he heard his brothers gasp. He fairly flew out of the manhole and paused to join them in staring openmouthed at the garich landscape.  
  
The city was gone. All that was in front of them was a huge platform and a veritable sea of faces. They couldn't see the Turtles because they were all focused on something on the platform. Or rather, someone.  
  
"The time has come to reverse the process that the humans have begun. Earth can't take much more of this abuse. When I gave my life away to this side of Darkness, of True Darkness and True Light, I was told that we are the protectors of Earth. Why aren't we protecting it? It's not that we're too sympathetic to get rid of all of the humans. It's not that at all, and I know and you know and that's that. How many of us have to kill humans just to stay alive? Or exist, in special cases." There was a slight ripple of laughter from the crowd, as if the speaker had just mentioned a long-standing joke. He paused for effect and then continued. "What no one wants to say is that they like this kind of life. We've gotten lazy off the humans handy gadgets and don't want to give up that life for our former glory. Who needs humans anyway? We managed well enough without them before. I look around and all I see is death and destruction and humans. Death, destruction, disease... I can live with those. I was herald for them at one point, as all too many of you remember. But, even I can't sit by and let my own world be over run by humans. I'm a very dispicable person, I lie through my teeth, I betray everyone I know, I've broken all the rules of our kind and managed to evade punishment for it every time. I'm strong in my convictions, though. Humans are a parasite of the Earth. We must act as her cleanser and get rid of them." There was a roar of cheers and the speaker waited for them to stop applauding. "Even though I know all this to be true, I can't think of a way to kill all of the humans. There are too many people who oppose us, too many who would stand for justice and morals and other nonsensical things like that." The voice filled with scorn. "And then there are the ones who just don't want to lose the comforts of their current lives. They will fight this and I will fight them. I don't ask for you to join in. I simply ask for you to stay out of my way. When all is said and done, there will be many bodies scattered across the Earth. Someone will be needed to fill the holes." There was a significant pause and Donatello imagined a faceless speaker looking down on the thousands of people before him, clearly implying that this was a takeover campaign and the rewards would be great for those who assisted him.  
  
"Up." The stranger pointed to a set of stairs that led onto the stage.  
  
The Turtles looked at each other and then at Splinter, dangling two feet in the air. Donatello moved first, tightly clutching his staff and in his mind, reviewing all the nasty things he could do to that stranger. They all trudged up the stairs, single file and lined up behind he speaker. He was so into his speech that he hadn't noticed them approach. He had jet black hair that hung to his shoulders, slight as they were. He stood slightly crouched, as though he was ready to spring into the air at any second.  
  
He looks familiar, Donatello thought. A moment later it struck him.  
  
"Gaton?!"  
  
He whirled around and time froze. Donatello stared into the face of his friend, but Gaton was staring past him.  
  
"You. Why have you brought these creatures here? They are not our kind." Gaton demanded. The Turtles stepped away so that he had a clear view of the stranger.  
  
"Oh you know why, Gaton Tair. You've broken far to many laws as it is. Do you think I would let you harm any more innocents?"  
  
"Hypocrite." Gaton accused, turning his body to face the other man.  
  
"Nonsense. You are a cold blooded killer, a liar and a thief."  
  
"What about you, Demo? You haven't broken any codes?"  
  
They locked eyes and the air between them literally turned blue.  
  
"What's going on Don?" Leo whispered.  
  
Donatello didn't answer because he was too busy thinking about the implications of what the two men had said.  
  
Earlier, Gaton had said that a change was coming to help Earth recover. He had warned them to stay out of the way on this exact night, and the two after. Now he was rallying support for what seemed to be a war effort with the excuse of getting rid of Earth's 'plight'. That didn't add up to Donatello. Why would Gaton make war for the feeble reasons he was giving here? It wasn't his style. Not only that, but Gaton had done nothing to indicate that this violent streak was in him. He had taken the time to cheer Don up, even stopped by to assure him that he was okay. So, Donatello decided with finality, Gaton has at least one hidden agenda here. The stranger, Demo- if Gaton had called him by his real name- seemed to be lying outright. He accused Gaton of lying and being a criminal, implyed that he was on the side of good, yet he had taken Master Splinter hostage.  
  
"Hey, don't think we don't know what you're up to. You knew Don and this guy were cool, so you kidnapped the Master to get us to come here. I bet you were planning on convincing us to help you beat this guy up. It's not gonna work on this turtle, dude." Raphael drew his weapons with a flourish and sank into an attack position. Mike and Leo did as well, but Don saw the other reason for having them all there.  
  
"Gaton. No matter what, you do what you planned, 'k?" He called to his friend. Gaton broke eye contact with Demo.  
  
"Hey Don. Guess you had to comeout, huh? Sorry about getting you involved."   
  
"Just don't let Splinter get hurt."  
  
"Not a problem. Hi, Don's family." Gaton smiled, completely ignoring the fact that Demo was rushing to attack him. At the last second, he sidestepped, without even honoring Demo with a look at his tumble. "Since you know, I might as well get it over with now." Gaton looked back to where Demo had been standing and looked surprised that he wasn't there. He spun around, seeking his enemy. "Now, now, Mr. Righteous. It's not nice to sneak up on people."  
  
Demo roared and charged again. Gaton spun neatly out of the way again and slammed his elbow deep into Demo's back at the same time as he brought his knee up into Demo's stomach. He made a sound like a frog being squashed flat as the air was forced out of his lungs with enough force to actually leave a visible dent in his middle. Gaton hopped back twice as Demo stumbled to the side. He pivoted and planted his foot square in Demo's face, a blow that knocked him clear across the substantial length of the platform. From his position a few feet from the Turtles, Gaton waved and yelled to Demo, "Do you know what I do to those who oppose me and aren't worthy?" There was a murmur from the crowd that implied that everyone knew just what happened in that particular scenario.  
  
"And how willing are you to sacrifice the lives of your friends?" Demo slowly stood to full height. He was much taller than Gaton and perhaps much older, though he didn't look old. He was also much more imposing and dangerous looking.  
  
"For this cause, I will sacrifice a planet of sentient lifeforms whose only true crime is innocence. Don't ask me if I would sacrifice my friends. That's what I'm doing as it is." A strong breeze picked up, but it seemed centered on Gaton. "You think I'm a fool, just because I'm young. Your bad." Gaton swept one arm towards Demo and the man's eyes grew wide for a second before he was surrounded by a tornado of wind. As everyone watched, the wind weathered Demo's skin to nothing and the vortex of air became tinged with pale brown skin and deep red blood. The Turtles stood tranfixed at his awful demise. The wind even eroded Demo's bones to nothing.  
  
Or so it seemed. As soon as they were gone, the wind stopped and a pile of dust settled on the wooden planks.  
  
"M-man, remind me not to tick him off." Raph said.  
  
"I hate to tell you thins, but this isn't your mentor." Gaton said. The Turtles looked back to see him bent over Splinter.  
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"I mean, it's a dummy. It just looks like him."  
  
"So, where is he?"  
  
"Dunno." Gaton said, but it was obvious that he was lieing. For someone who made a reputation for himself by killing, stealing and lieing, he was really bad at the latter. All four of the brothers fixed him with a look that said that nothing but the truth would suit them. "Everyone is somewhere, so no one can be nowhere, but you have to define the term somewhere in order to properly judge distance and location. My definition of place is different from yours since I can exist in the places that you call nowhere. Is this making sense?"  
  
"Is he dead?" Leo asked.  
  
"Not dead in the sense that I am aware of. How do you define --"  
  
"Stop talking funny and just give us a straight answer!" Raph yelled at him.  
  
"You're a demon aren't you." Donatello calmly said.  
  
"Something like that."  
  
"Traditionally, demons don't give straight answers. Either they don't think in the terms that we do or they're just being malicious."  
  
"It's not like that at all." Gaton protested.  
  
"Isn't it?"  
  
"No. I want to help, really, but I never had to translate my terms of reality into yours. For you, there is life and death. For me there is life, existance, death and nonexistance. I can die and still exist, I can exist and not be alive. I can die if I exist, but it's not called dieing, its call expiring. For my kind of people, there is no such thing as real death in the sense that you have. I haven't spent enough time here to accurately describe where he is or his condition to you."  
  
"Then tell us in your terms and we'll work from there." Leonardo was beginning to look ticked.  
  
"Or better yet, take us there." Mike added.  
  
"That I cannot do. He is in what is called distortional vortex in a type of... not suspended animation, but... it's like he's living in another person's body while his is being held captive. In that other body, he isn't aware of who he is or what his existance is to the world. It is highly unlikely that he will be able to return though. It's hard enough for me, and I am one of the most powerful Kiachorms in the known realm. A mere mortal would be torn apart by the process of removal. It is better to let him live as he is, than force him into his body and then have to leave him in the vortex. Or you could try to get him out and watch him get sucked into infinity."  
  
"Distortional vortex..."  
  
"Yes. When a star collapses, it sucks in everything around it an-"  
  
"A black hole? Master Splinter's in a black hole?"  
  
"No. Nothing that simple. I was just trying to give you something to compare it to. Imagine a very powerful source of magic that dies. Like a star, it caves in on itself and sucks in everything that gets too close."  
  
"Magic?" Raph repeated.  
  
"Yes."  
  
They all paused to reflect on that.  
  
"Where did all the people go?" Donatello wondered out loud.  
  
"They left to see just how useful they can make themselves to me."  
  
"Oh. What's a k-kia chorm?"  
  
"A Kiachorm is a person like you, a halfling, only we are mixed with races like humans, who have no grasp of magic, and races that are exceptionally gifted. These kinds of pairings are rare, since the offspring usually die after birth. Or they go mad with power. Or they get possessed by a demon who drags them to its realm of existance and tortures them 'til they're near death so they can nurse you back to health and plant their spawn in you and send you back to your realm. Then the newer demon halfing is born into this world and readies it for conquest. That's it basically."  
  
There was a very thick silence.  
  
"You got raped by a demon? Is that what you're saying?"  
  
"Oh no, I'm a guy. They only like girls. I'm the result of that though. The only one, I might add." He preened.  
  
"Okay." Raph, Leo and Mike looked at one another, more than a little disturbed.  
  
"And you're proud of that?"  
  
"Yeah. Power means I can do stuff. Like set things right again. I don't have to bow like the rest of the Kiachoms do to the higher ups, but I'm not subject to the politics of those same people. I can make a difference this way. That's pretty much all I have. My power and the will to make things better."  
  
Donatello found that he could relate. When you were as different as he and his brothers were, you needed something to throw yourself into wholeheartedly, even when all you had was your strength and your will.  
  
"How can we help?" he asked.  
  
"Don't hate me for what I do. I can't afford to think short term, there's no nice way to do this."  
  
"To do what?"  
  
"Something."  
  
"When?"  
  
"Time is manmade. I am not subject to its limitations."  
  
"What's that suposed to mean?"  
  
"What do you think it means?"  
  
"I wanna know what you meant for it to mean."  
  
"I meant for you to think of that on your own."  
  
"Think of what?"  
  
"What ever told you."  
  
"What'd you tell me."  
  
"My favorite color."  
  
"What's that got to do with anything?"  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
"Not this again."  
  
"Not what again?"  
  
"This."  
  
"This is everything around us, your 'this' hasn't changed and never will."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I wish you paid more attention to what I say."  
  
"Me, too. But seriously, what was my question?"  
  
"You forgot?"  
  
"Yeah. Good. That was the point. Be safe." Gaton smiled widely and a strong gust of wind battered the Turtles. When they recovered, Gaton was gone.  
  
"So. Can somebody tell me what just happened?" Raph asked.  
  
"Technically, yes. But they won't." Donatello said vaguely, trying to remember what had set Gaton on the defensive. At least he thought it was the defensive. He might have just been trying to be difficult.  
  
"Uh-huh. Man, what's up with this? How long have you known that wacko?"  
  
"And why didn't you tell us?"   
  
"And what makes you sure he's telling the truth about Master Splinter?"  
  
"Of course he's not. Splinter wouldn't get caught that easily."  
  
The three brothers began argueing over... pretty much nothing. Donatello just stared at the pile of dust on the platform.  
  
"Magic doesn't exist anyway. Everyone knows that."  
  
"Then how do you explain what happened?"  
  
"And everyone knows that that giant turtles don't exist either."  
  
"We aren't really giant turtles. There are fossils proving that at some point in history there were turtles much bigger than we are. And I think some exist today as well. We could ride on them like horses, they're that big."  
  
"You would do that?"  
  
"No! It's just metaphorically speaking."  
  
"Is that the right context for that word?"  
  
"Just shut up, I don't care."  
  
"What is he doing?"  
  
They all looked at Donatello. He was kneeling in the remanants of Demo and letting a fistful of dust pour from one hand to the other and staring wistfully as the fine dust caught in the wind and was scattered.  
  
"Don?"  
  
"I'm okay. We should leave town."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Trust me." He stood and looked around as if seeing something they didn't. "He's going to reshape the planet. We don't want to be here when he does."  
  
"If you insist."  
  
"Are we gonna resuce the Master?"  
  
"Of course we'll try. All we have is our strength and our will to keep our friends safe, together. That's all we need."  
  
"I wouldn't suggest it, though." The Ninja Turtles jumped, but quickly recovered. They held their weapons a little tighter when they saw who had spoken. "My apologies. I had no intention to startling you." To be honest he looked perfectly normal. His hair was a nondescript brown, as were his eyes and his voice has a soothing quality. There was really no reason for the brothers to feel on edge around him, but they did. "As I ws saying, Gaton has a horrible gift for inspiring people. It comes in handy when you're trying to overthrow neo-gods, but taking what he says literally only causes trouble."  
  
"Who are you?" Raph demanded in a less-than-civil tone.  
  
"I am Gaton's second, Urib Hawthem. I know from personal experience just what happens if you listen to Gaton too hard." He made a face.   
  
"Neo-gods?"  
  
Urib looked confused for a moment. "Ah, I see. You have no idea just what you've been dragged into. Then let us go somewhere less...open and I will explain."  
  
"Fine. But we decide where." Leo said, suspicious of the man. Three strangers in one night... One was obviously deadly, another kidnapped Master Splinter... Leo was begining to feel like a leaf on the brink of a waterfall.   
  
"Of course. I don't know this place well enough to decide."  
  
In silence, the four turtles and Urib trekked across the city. It was as if time didn't exist. No one moved, there was no wind, no sound... Mike made a mental note to ask about the stillness of the city. Donatello was busy soul searching again, Mike noticed. He didn't like the fact that Don knew that wind guy and hadn't told them. It made him wonder what else Don knew.  
  
Donatello was, indeed, soul searching. He had already decided that Urib was trustworthy, and there was something about him that reminded Don of the best parts of all his brothers. Don figured, the fact that everything else had just put him in defensive mode. But the more he thought about it, the more Urib reminded him of Master Splinter. There was an aura around him that boasted confidence and power. He probably didn't mind going wherever the turtles chose because he could easily defeat them all.   
  
That was it, Don decided. So far we haven't run into anyone who couldn't walk right over us. We... it's as if all those years with the Master were nothing. They make us look weak, and none of us like that.  
  
Donatello noticed Raph glaring at Urib and hardly trying to disguise his intense dislike. Don wearily smiled. There would be a conflict, and he doubted he could do anything to stop it. The only question was...  
  
"Will he hold his punches, or kill us just for spite?"  
  
"You say something, Don?" Leo asked.  
  
From his position behind Urib and to his right, Don could see the man's smile. It didn't look as happy as it could have, though. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles do not belong to me, or anyone I know for that matter. Any characters from the series featured in this story belong to someone else and I'm not even going to try claiming them. Any irregular characters, however, do belong to me and you can bet you woolen underwear that I claim them.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Donatello could see no alternative, so he followed the stranger, accompanied by his brothers. None of them said anything, but the stranger kept the silence filled with mindless chatter, much akin to Gaton's ramblings. In fact, Donatello thought to himself, the only difference is that Gaton usually babbles pointless facts. This guy just babbles.  
  
"I can sense one of you thinking of Gaton in specific, but I admit I'm at a loss as to identifying you. How do you tell each other apart?"  
  
"Pheromones." Donatello muttered. He could tell that his brothers wanted to know why the stranger wanted him and who Gaton was, but the first thing on their minds was Master Splinter.  
  
"Ah, yes. A primitive tracking device, but usable. One cannot blame you for working with what you have." His tone made the Turtles' blood boil, but they kept their opinions to themselves.  
  
More mindnumbing talk and wandering through the pipes followed. Finally they stopped under a manhole and the man looked up. "Up." he commanded, and when the Turtles didn't comply, he looked pointedly at the hovering Master. Reluctantly, the brothers climbed the ladder and left the sewers.  
  
What if someone's up there? What if we're seen? Donatello nearly panicked when he heard his brothers gasp. He fairly flew out of the manhole and paused to join them in staring openmouthed at the garish landscape.  
  
The city was gone. All that was in front of them was a huge platform and a veritable sea of monsters. They couldn't see the Turtles because they were all focused on something on the platform. Or rather, someone.  
  
"The time has come to reverse the process that the humans have begun. Earth can't take much more of this abuse. When I gave my life away to this side of Darkness, of True Darkness and True Light, I was told that we are the protectors of Earth. Why aren't we protecting it? It's not that we're too sympathetic to get rid of all of the humans. It's not that at all, and I know and you know and that's that. How many of us have to kill humans just to stay alive? Or exist, in special cases." There was a slight ripple of laughter from the crowd, as if the speaker had just mentioned a long-standing joke. He paused for effect and then continued. "What no one wants to say is that they like this kind of life. We've gotten lazy off the humans' handy gadgets and don't want to give up that life for our former glory. Who needs humans anyway? We managed well enough without them before. I look around and all I see is death and destruction and humans. Death, destruction, disease... I can live with those. I was herald for them at one point, as all too many of you remember. But, even I can't sit by and let my own world be over run by humans. I'm a very dispicable person, I lie through my teeth, I betray everyone I know, I've broken all the rules of our kind and managed to evade punishment for it every time. I'm strong in my convictions, though. Humans are a parasite of the Earth. We must act as her cleanser and get rid of them." There was a roar of cheers and the speaker waited for them to stop applauding. "Even though I know all this to be true, I can't think of a way to kill all of the humans. There are too many people who oppose us, too many who would stand for justice and morals and other nonsensical things like that." The voice filled with scorn. "And then there are the ones who just don't want to lose the comforts of their current lives. They will fight this and I will fight them. I don't ask for you to join in. I simply ask for you to stay out of my way. When all is said and done, there will be many bodies scattered across the Earth. Someone will be needed to fill the holes." There was a significant pause and Donatello imagined a faceless speaker looking down on the thousands of creatures before him, clearly implying that this was a takeover campaign and the rewards would be great for those who assisted him.  
  
"Up." The stranger pointed to a set of stairs that led onto the stage.  
  
The Turtles looked at each other and then at Splinter, dangling two feet in the air. Donatello moved first, tightly clutching his staff and in his mind, reviewing all the nasty things he could do to that stranger. They all trudged up the stairs, single file, and lined up behind he speaker. He was so into his speech that he hadn't noticed them approach. He had jet black hair that hung to his shoulders, slight as they were. He stood slightly crouched, as though he was ready to spring into the air at any second.  
  
He looks familiar, Donatello thought. A moment later it struck him.  
  
"Gaton?!"  
  
He whirled around and time froze. Donatello stared into the face of his friend, but Gaton was staring past him.  
  
"You. Why have you brought these creatures here? They are not our kind." Gaton demanded. The Turtles stepped away so that he had a clear view of the stranger.  
  
"Oh you know why, Gaton Tair. You've broken far to many laws as it is. Do you think I would let you harm any more innocents?"  
  
"Hypocrite." Gaton accused, turning his body to face the other man.  
  
"Nonsense. You are a cold blooded killer, a liar and a thief."  
  
"What about you, Demo? You haven't broken any codes?"  
  
They locked eyes and the air between them literally turned blue.  
  
"What's going on Don?" Leo whispered.  
  
Donatello didn't answer because he was too busy thinking about the implications of what the two men had said.  
  
Earlier, Gaton had said that a change was coming to help Earth recover. He had warned them to stay out of the way on this exact night, and the two after. Now he was rallying support for what seemed to be a war effort with the excuse of getting rid of Earth's 'plight'. That didn't add up to Donatello. Why would Gaton make war for the feeble reasons he was giving here? It wasn't his style. Not only that, but Gaton had done nothing to indicate that this violent streak was in him. He had taken the time to cheer Don up, even stopped by to assure him that he was okay. So, Donatello decided with finality, Gaton has at least one hidden agenda here. The stranger, Demo- if Gaton had called him by his real name- seemed to be lying outright. He accused Gaton of lying and being a criminal, implyed that he was on the side of good, yet he had taken Master Splinter hostage.  
  
"Hey, don't think we don't know what you're up to. You knew Don and this guy were cool, so you kidnapped the Master to get us to come here. I bet you were planning on convincing us to help you beat this guy up. It's not gonna work on this turtle, dude." Raphael drew his weapons with a flourish and sank into an attack position. Mike and Leo did as well, but Don saw the other reason for having them all there.  
  
"Gaton. No matter what, you do what you planned, 'k?" He called to his friend. Gaton broke eye contact with Demo.  
  
"Hey Don. Guess you had to come out, huh? Sorry about getting you involved."   
  
"Just don't let Splinter get hurt."  
  
"Not a problem. Hi, Don's family." Gaton smiled, completely ignoring the fact that Demo was rushing to attack him. At the last second, he sidestepped, without even honoring Demo with a look at his tumble. "Since you know, I might as well get it over with now." Gaton looked back to where Demo had been standing and looked surprised that he wasn't there. He spun around, seeking his enemy. "Now, now, Mr. Righteous. It's not nice to sneak up on people."  
  
Demo roared and charged again. Gaton spun neatly out of the way again and slammed his elbow deep into Demo's back at the same time as he brought his knee up into Demo's stomach. He made a sound like a frog being squashed flat as the air was forced out of his lungs with enough force to actually leave a visible dent in his middle. Gaton hopped back twice as Demo stumbled to the side. He pivoted and planted his foot square in Demo's face, a blow that knocked him clear across the substantial length of the platform. From his position a few feet from the Turtles, Gaton waved and yelled to Demo, "Do you know what I do to those who oppose me and aren't worthy?" There was a murmur from the crowd that implied that everyone knew just what happened in that particular scenario.  
  
"And how willing are you to sacrifice the lives of your friends?" Demo slowly stood to full height. He was much taller than Gaton and perhaps much older, though he didn't look old. He was also much more imposing and dangerous looking.  
  
"For this cause, I will sacrifice a planet of sentinent lifeforms whose only true crime is innocence. Don't ask me if I would sacrifice my friends. That's what I'm doing as it is." A strong breeze picked up, but it seemed centered on Gaton. "You think I'm a fool, just because I'm young. Your bad." Gaton swept one arm towards Demo and the man's eyes grew wide for a second before he was surrounded by a tornado of wind. As everyone watched, the wind weathered Demo's skin to nothing and the vortex of air became tinged with pale brown skin and deep red blood. The Turtles stood tranfixed at his awful demise. The wind even eroded Demo's bones to nothing.  
  
Or so it seemed. As soon as they were gone, the wind stopped and a pile of dust settled on the wooden planks.  
  
"M-man, remind me not to tick him off." Raph said.  
  
"I hate to tell you this, but this isn't your mentor." Gaton said. The Turtles looked back to see him bent over Splinter.  
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"I mean, it's a dummy. It just looks like him."  
  
"So, where is he?"  
  
"Dunno." Gaton said, but it was obvious that he was lieing. For someone who made a reputation for himself by killing, stealing and lieing, he was really bad at the latter. All four of the brothers fixed him with a look that said that nothing but the truth would suit them. "Everyone is somewhere, so no one can be nowhere, but you have to define the term somewhere in order to properly judge distance and location. My definition of place is different from yours since I can exist in the places that you call nowhere. Is this making sense?"  
  
"Is he dead?" Leo asked.  
  
"Not dead in the sense that I am aware of. How do you define --"  
  
"Stop talking funny and just give us a straight answer!" Raph yelled at him.  
  
"You're a demon aren't you." Donatello calmly said. He had finally figured out how Gaton slipped in and out of the Lair so quietly. To a demon, walls were nothing.  
  
"Something like that."  
  
"Traditionally, demons don't give straight answers. Either they don't think in the terms that we do or they're just being malicious."  
  
"It's not like that at all." Gaton protested.  
  
"Isn't it?"  
  
"No. I want to help, really, but I never had to translate my terms of reality into yours. For you, there is life and death. For me there is life, existance, death and nonexistance. I can die and still exist, I can exist and not be alive. I can die if I exist, but it's not called dieing, its call expiring. For my kind of people, there is no such thing as real death in the sense that you have. I haven't spent enough time here to accurately describe where he is or his condition to you."  
  
"Then tell us in your terms and we'll work from there." Leonardo was beginning to look ticked off.  
  
"Or better yet, take us there." Mike added.  
  
"That I cannot do. He is in what is called distortional vortex in a type of... not suspended animation, but... it's like he's living in another person's body while his is being held captive. In that other body, he isn't aware of who he is or what his existance is to the world. It is highly unlikely that he will be able to return though. It's hard enough for me, and I am one of the most powerful Kiachorms in the known realm. A mere mortal would be torn apart by the process of removal. It is better to let him live as he is, than force him into his body and then have to leave him in the vortex. Or you could try to get him out and watch him get sucked into infinity."  
  
"Distortional vortex..."  
  
"Yes. When a star collapses, it sucks in everything around it an-"  
  
"A black hole? Master Splinter's in a black hole?"  
  
"No. Nothing that simple. I was just trying to give you something to compare it to. Imagine a very powerful source of magic that dies. Like a star, it caves in on itself and sucks in everything that gets too close."  
  
"Magic?" Raph repeated.  
  
"Yes."  
  
They all paused to reflect on that.  
  
"Where did all the people go?" Donatello wondered out loud.  
  
"They left to see just how useful they can make themselves to me."  
  
"Oh. What's a k-kia chorm?"  
  
"A Kiachorm is a person like you, a halfling, only we are mixed with races like humans, who have no grasp of magic, and races that are exceptionally gifted. These kinds of pairings are rare, since the offspring usually die after birth. Or they go mad with power. Or they get possessed by a demon who drags them to its realm of existance and tortures them 'til they're near death so they can nurse you back to health and plant their spawn in you and send you back to your realm. Then the newer demon halfing is born into this world and readies it for conquest. That's it basically."  
  
There was a very thick silence.  
  
"You got raped by a demon? Is that what you're saying?"  
  
"Oh no, I'm a guy. They only like girls. I'm the result of that though. The only one, I might add." He preened.  
  
"Okay." Raph, Leo and Mike looked at one another, more than a little disturbed.  
  
"And you're proud of that?"  
  
"Yeah. Power means I can do stuff. Like set things right again. I don't have to bow like the rest of the Kiachorms do to the higher ups, but I'm not subject to the politics of those same people. I can make a difference this way. That's pretty much all I have. My power and the will to make things better."  
  
Donatello found that he could relate. When you were as different as he and his brothers were, you needed something to throw yourself into wholeheartedly, even when all you had was your strength and your will.  
  
"How can we help?" he asked.  
  
"Don't hate me for what I do. I can't afford to think short term, there's no nice way to do this."  
  
"To do what?"  
  
"Something."  
  
"When?"  
  
"Time is manmade. I am not subject to its limitations."  
  
"What's that suposed to mean?"  
  
"What do you think it means?"  
  
"I wanna know what you meant for it to mean."  
  
"I meant for you to think of that on your own."  
  
"Think of what?"  
  
"What ever I told you."  
  
"What'd you tell me."  
  
"My favorite color."  
  
"What's that got to do with anything?"  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
"Not this again."  
  
"Not what again?"  
  
"This."  
  
"This is everything around us, your 'this' hasn't changed and never will."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I wish you paid more attention to what I say."  
  
"Me, too. But seriously, what was my question?"  
  
"You forgot?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Good. That was the point. Be safe." Gaton smiled widely and a strong gust of wind battered the Turtles. When they recovered, Gaton was gone.  
  
"So. Can somebody tell me what just happened?" Raph asked.  
  
"Technically, yes. But they won't." Donatello said vaguely, trying to remember what had set Gaton on the defensive. At least he thought it was the defensive. He might have just been trying to be difficult.  
  
"Uh-huh. Man, what's up with this? How long have you known that wacko?"  
  
"And why didn't you tell us?"   
  
"And what makes you sure he's telling the truth about Master Splinter?"  
  
"Of course he's not. Splinter wouldn't get caught that easily."  
  
The three brothers began argueing over... pretty much nothing. Donatello just stared at the pile of dust on the platform.  
  
"Magic doesn't exist anyway. Everyone knows that."  
  
"Then how do you explain what happened?"  
  
"And everyone knows that that giant turtles don't exist either."  
  
"We aren't really giant turtles. There are fossils proving that at some point in history there were turtles much bigger than we are. And I think some exist today as well. We could ride on them like horses, they're that big."  
  
"You would do that?"  
  
"No! It's just metaphorically speaking."  
  
"Is that the right context for that word?"  
  
"Just shut up, I don't care."  
  
"What is he doing?"  
  
They all looked at Donatello. He was kneeling in the remanants of Demo and letting a fistful of dust pour from one hand to the other and staring wistfully as the fine dust caught in the wind and was scattered.  
  
"Don?"  
  
"I'm okay. We should leave town."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Trust me." He stood and looked around as if seeing something they didn't. "He's going to reshape the planet. We don't want to be here when he does."  
  
"If you insist."  
  
"Are we gonna rescue the Master?"  
  
"Of course we'll try. All we have is our strength and our will to keep our friends safe, together. That's all we need."  
  
"I wouldn't suggest it, though." The Ninja Turtles jumped, but quickly recovered. They held their weapons a little tighter when they saw who had spoken. "My apologies. I had no intention to startling you." To be honest he looked perfectly normal. His hair was a nondescript brown, as were his eyes and his voice has a soothing quality. There was really no reason for the brothers to feel on edge around him, but they did. "As I ws saying, Gaton has a horrible gift for inspiring people. It comes in handy when you're trying to overthrow neo-gods, but taking what he says literally only causes trouble."  
  
"Who are you?" Raph demanded in a less-than-civil tone.  
  
"I am Gaton's second, Urib Hawthem. I know from personal experience just what happens if you listen to Gaton too hard." He made a face.   
  
"Neo-gods?"  
  
Urib looked confused for a moment. "Ah, I see. You have no idea just what you've been dragged into. Then let us go somewhere less...open and I will explain."  
  
"Fine. But we decide where." Leo said, suspicious of the man. Three strangers in one night... One was obviously deadly, another kidnapped Master Splinter... Leo was begining to feel like a leaf on the brink of a waterfall.   
  
"Of course. I don't know this place well enough to decide."  
  
In silence, the four turtles and Urib trekked across the city. It was as if time didn't exist. No one moved, there was no wind, no sound... Mike made a mental note to ask about the stillness of the city. Donatello was busy soul searching again, Mike noticed. He didn't like the fact that Don knew that wind guy and hadn't told them. It made him wonder what else Don knew.  
  
Donatello was, indeed, soul searching. He had already decided that Urib was trustworthy, and there was something about him that reminded Don of the best parts of all his brothers. Don figured, the fact that everything else had just put him in defensive mode. But the more he thought about it, the more Urib reminded him of Master Splinter. There was an aura around him that boasted confidence and power. He probably didn't mind going wherever the turtles chose because he could easily defeat them all.   
  
That was it, Don decided. So far we haven't run into anyone who couldn't walk right over us. We... it's as if all those years with the Master were nothing. They make us look weak, and none of us like that.  
  
Donatello noticed Raph glaring at Urib and hardly trying to disguise his intense dislike. Don wearily smiled. There would be a conflict, and he doubted he could do anything to stop it. The only question was...  
  
"Will he hold his punches, or kill us just for spite?"  
  
"You say something, Don?" Leo asked.  
  
From his position behind Urib and to his right, Don could see the man's smile. It didn't look as happy as it could have, though.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
They finally stopped at an abandoned warehouse near the edge of town. It was filthy and everything inside was covered with dust, but there were several boxes that served as perfect seats.  
  
"So, explain." Leo demanded, already nearing the edge of his vast store of patience.  
  
"Well, First of all, you have to understand that there are lots of little subdivisions in this universe. It's like a tree. At the trunk you have all sentient lifeforms. Then it splits into people from earth and people from elsewhere. To keep it simple, I'll focus on Earth. On earth, you have humans and Kiachorm. You fall under the human category, by the way. Well, actually, humans have three parts; traditional, mutated and magical. Kiachorm fall into traditional, lower and fused. Traditional Kiachorm are exactly what Gaton said they were, humans of any form but magical mixed with any form of Kiachorm. Lower Kiachorm are just human and an alien with a grasp of magic. Mind you, it's not a very good grasp and they aren't very powerful, but it still counts. Fused Kiachorm are like Gaton. A Kiachorm and creature that exists on a different plane of existance. The idea is that they are more than just Kiachorm, but since they never stay alive long enough to do anything but cause trouble, they're just dumped into the Kiachorm category. Any questions so far?"  
  
"So far? Are you kidding us? That wasn't enough?" Raph exclaimed. It was obvious that he didn't understand a word that Urib had said.  
  
"So what are magical humans? I thought they couldn't do magic."  
  
"They can't. Magicals are humans who have magical residue on them. If I cast a spell on you that would make your head hurt everytime you saw a pizza, for instance," There were gasps of shock from Raph and Mike. "Well, then you'd carry that spell around until I took it off. Even for three years after that, you would be considered a Magical because that's how long it takes for the remanents to dissipate."  
  
"Okay." Leo tapped his foot. "What about these 'creatures from other dimensions? How do they get here?"  
  
"That's too complicated for right now. Just know that off-Earth beings are all magical, the only thing that differs is the type of magic they cast and the power that their average person can cast. Some of them specialize in summoning demons, others are easily possessed by them in the right situation."  
  
"And what does all of this have to do with us?"  
  
"You have befriended the one and only living Fused Kiachorm. That makes you his only weakness."  
  
"Great." Mike muttered, already seeing where the conversation was going.  
  
"That also makes you the ideal leaders of his movement. He plans to cast an enormous spell that will affect the whole planet. He's calling it the Meltdown. In one instant, all materials in the world will revert back to their closest natural counterpart. That means," Urib fixed Raph with a hard look. "Things like skyscrapers, with their steel frames and pexiglass windows, will change into things like iron frames and straight glass."  
  
"And..." Raph said in a bored tone.  
  
"And those buildings are too big to stand with that much weight on them."  
  
The brothers suddenly all became very interested in what Urib had to say.  
  
"Consider all the peopl who wear contacts. When the Meltdown occurs, those little circles of smooth plastic will turn to the next best natural thing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Glass."  
  
All four of the turtle winced as the implications of that hit them.  
  
"Did you now that all the water you drink and all the food you eat is filled with chemicals and had to be subject to at least twenty different kinds before it even reached the stores? How much clean water is there in the world? Clean enough to drink without chemmically treating it? After Meltdown, those chemicals are gone, the rat-proof containers that hold food are gone, water tanks and purification centers..."  
  
"But... how is anyone supposed to live without all that stuff?"  
  
"Survival of the fittest. Gaton hopes that the spell will also work on the pollutants in the water and air, but if it doesn't..."  
  
"Then we're doomed."  
  
"Wait, we can warn people, get them to save water and food in things that won't revert." Don said, though he wondered how they could get people to believe them.  
  
"It's going to happen as soon as I get back to Gaton's side. In about a dozen miliseconds, the whole world will be rearranged and Gaton will take the survivors and breed magic into them. Then he'll reintroduce technology to them. This isn't about saving humans. It's about getting them off Earth and into space where they'll fend for themselves. Gaton is just a kid. He needs someone his age around to help him out once he starts ruling the survivors. That's why I told him to wait on that rooftop. I saw you, Donatello, in one of my visions. You two are so alike, I knew you'd get along, so I told him to meet me there. After that, Gaton decided to follow-up. Gaton is my little brother. I fear for him. That's why I need you four. You can protect him from the things he won't let himself see, guide him when he doesn't understand, you can help lead him through the darkness that will soon follow. Most important," Urib looked each of them in the eye. "You can be his friends, the only people he can truly trust among humans. It's a lot, I know. But I won't be here for this. It's all he's lived for, really."  
  
"Wh- where will you be?"  
  
"Finding your father, Splinter, is it? I don't expect to return. Don't tell Gaton, though. He'll try to stop me. I can't help but feel that all of this is my fault. I'm sorry."  
  
"But-"  
  
"No, I don't mean to get your hopes up. I have a theory about time travel inside a vortex. It's complex and all about... well, timing." Urib smiled at his pun, but quickly got serious again. "I need you guys to leave town now. Go at least three or four miles out, since we don't know just what kind of damage a million skyscrapers will do when they all collapse simultaniously. Thanks. It means a lot to me to know that Gat's in good hands. It's more than he ever got before I showed up." Urib smiled again, a sad and beautiful smile, before dissapating in the wind.  
  
"We better run, bros. I don't think a millisecond is very long." Raph said.  
  
"Let's get outta here."  
  
~~  
  
A/N. Yeah, a dumb place to leave you at, but I need help with the plot. I know what I want in the big picture, but everywhere else I'm lacking. I also need to know who the most popular characters are so I can make some more enemies. (If you don't get it, then just understand that I like death and carnage.) Thanks reviewers, and esp. Ziptango. I finally got that link to work and I think I'm ready to introduce more victi- er, characters. 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N Whoo... Yo, it's been a while. I was told that reviewers like being named- so the naming commences...  
  
Thanks Red Turtle. I hadn't read any of your stories when I started this, but I'm working on it....  
  
ZipTango- thanks a bundle. I think you're my number one fan:)  
  
Quoth the Raven- I don;t really think that far into it, but I'm glad my story actually makes sense. I kinda feel special knowing that there's meaning to my psychobabble.  
  
Ramica- Thanks for the correction. I'm going to change that- let there be no doubt, and as soon as things settle down, you'll get more than an earful of randomness...  
  
Now. On to the story...  
  
(end A/N)  
  
"April! Where's- oh. Er. Sorry?" Leo pulled up short as the turtles' two friends quickly pulled away from each other.  
  
"C'mon, Urib's brobably delaying Gaton, but we really don't have long. We need to move NOW." Donatello reminded him.  
  
"Right, trust us on this one, we need to bounce, Dudes." Raph and Mike shared a conspiratal glance and took off after their brothers, trusting April and Casey to follow.  
  
"What's going on?" Casey shot as he ran.  
  
"If you can talk, you aren't running fast enough." a calm voice said beside him. Casey turned his head. A kid, no more than thirteen years old was running along side the group.  
  
"Who're you?"  
  
"Gaton Tair. Pleased to meet you, friend of Don." The kid smiled. "You're taking too long. The others are already moving to stop us. I'll get you out of here, just brace yourself."  
  
"What? Wh-"   
  
The kid, Gaton, closed his eyes and a strong wind picked up. It battered Casey, April and the Turtles, yet didnt seem to touch Gton at all. He whispered something to the wind and suddenly the world froze.  
  
When Casey became aware of his own heart beating again, his surrounding were very different.  
  
"What the..."  
  
"Wow. They're huge." Mike stared upwards in awe.  
  
Towering above the friends was a canopy of green. Surrounding them were trees so old that their dark brown bases had long since been covered with the green of moss. The heavy scent of natural decay hung in the air and a slight breeze rustled the leaves around them.  
  
"Where are we? Where in the world do trees this old come from?" Leonardo asked, just as cowed by the spectacle as Michelangelo. There was a loud noise, as though something big was plowing through the trees towards them. Everyone braced themselves for a fight. It got louder and louder, until suddenly a pair of deer burst from the foliage.  
  
"Holy pepperoni..." Leo muttered, voice fully expressing his amusement.  
  
"Are they supposed to be that big?"  
  
"What are they?"  
  
"Deer, you idiot."  
  
"Really? They look like horses to me."  
  
"Horses don't have have antlers."  
  
"Well that one doesn't either."  
  
"It's female."  
  
"How can you tell?"  
  
"It doesn't have antlers!"  
  
"Guys, I've seen a deer before. I've run into a deer, trust me, they're usually smaller than a Suburban."  
  
"So. You mean they're not suposed to be this big."  
  
"And they're suposed to run away, not walk up and let you pet them."  
  
"Oh."  
  
The six teenagers stared at the giant deer.  
  
"Maybe they're malibu or reindeer or-"  
  
"Mike, it isn't funny. Where there's deer, there's wolves, and fighting wolves is different from fighting people."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"They're lower down, that forces you to fight at an uncomfortable angle and tire easily. And they travel in packs, as in, twenty to fifty wolves attacking at once. They're a lot more coordinated than humans."  
  
"We can take 'em." Raph boasted.  
  
"THey're also pretty rare around here so if they show up, we can't kill them. How do you plan to take them down without killing them when they're fighting for food? We need to get out of here."  
  
"Okay. Let's go this way." Leo said.  
  
"Why that way?"  
  
"Because when we arrived here, we were facing the opposite direction. We go this way because this is the direction at our backs when we arrived." He answered with finality. THe others just shrugged and followed him.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Gaton crouched in a tree as Leonardo led the group away. They're safe enough here, he thought. Now to the rest of the plan.  
  
Gaton didn't bother to subdue the strong wind that swept him away. It was a side effect of his magic, every mage had one to stop them from sneaking up on other mages by using their magic. Usually Gaton toned it down, but he didn't see how it mattered. Everyone knew what he was up to now.  
  
The world shifted around him and then he was back at the platform. Urib was there, surrounded by at least a dozen higher mages who were there to force them to abandon the mission.  
  
Is this right? Am I making a mistake? Gaton asked himself. In his heart, the memory of a dream returned...  
  
***** Gaton, I need you. A voice echoed through the still whiteness of Gaton's mind. Gaton, look at me.   
  
It was hard to tell the voice from all the random thoughts in his mind, it was so faint. Deep in sleep, the universe existed only as a myriad of colors to the demon halfling. White, an eternal and infinite room of white that sucked everything up. Gaton knew that this was a remantent of his time in the vortex, it had been the same. Blinding light that sucked the darkness up, elongated it and pulled it in, completely ignoring him- or as Gaton was wont to remember, to sharpen the darkness into dark knives to cut through his mind and body, for all their immaterial qualities. It was a Hell that religion knew nothing of, trapped in a heaven of your own design. In his dreams, he was there again, a dark spot in Heaven's perfect glory, with angels shooting darts of righteousness at him, the devil's own, for intruding on their world. Even in sleep they haunted him.  
  
Gaton, please. This is important. He stood in the bright void and watched the colors fly past him like knitting needles in a tornado, each one a thought that bore its own color depending on the emotions it invoked. Gaton, GATON.   
  
"What?" he asked, finally hearing the voice.  
  
Gaton, I need you to prepare the Earth. There will be visitors soon.  
  
"What, am I your butler now?"  
  
Gaton, please. They come from far away. THey will help bring us back t our former glory and when they return to their time, they will help change things there.  
  
"I told you already. I'm no hero. I saved you the last time because Trae died before he could do it. I did it for him and he did it because he owed you a favor. The debt is repaid. Go find your own hero. Urib, for instance. He believes in helping people.  
  
He is not strong enough, G-  
  
"Why. Why do you insist on saying my name everytime you speak to me? There's no one here but us."  
  
I like your name.  
  
"You named me. I should think you like it. I don't. It reminds me of how I was cursed. Don't call me by my name anymore."  
  
I'm sorry. I thought-  
  
"You didn't think. You never think. Go away."  
  
The Earth is dieing. Urib isn't strong enough to do what is neccessary.  
  
"Why should I care? I'll live whether or not the world ends. That was your gift to me. You and father... Just leave me alone. Let me live alone and angry."  
  
You have to change the world, Gaton.  
  
"I told you not to call me that." he said, temper quickly rising. "People don't change the world. It changes them."  
  
Oh, but you're wrong. THe world is changed. Humans did it. They poisoned it and coverd its face with humans and human things. You can change that. Get rid of the humans and all their poisonous toys, and not only will you have freed the planet, but you will also have reshaped it. Think about it, Gaton. The mages will fear your power, you will be repsected and could rule them all. The first ruler of the mages. You will be the one to bring them all together, Gaton. You.  
  
Gaton listened as the voice droned on about how he would benefit from helping it. "You're full of it. Why would I fall for something as slovenly as that bull shit? I'm only a demon halfling. I don't have the motivations of any of my descendants. Respect, power, feeling needed. Who gives a damn? I wish there was an off button on you, you're beginning to tick me off."  
  
Gato-  
  
He didn't give the voice a chance to continue. Gaton concentrated on his breathing, a surefire way to wake up. When he say up in bed a few seconds later, Gaton was wide awake and mad as a hornet.  
  
"I refuse to serve either of you." he whispered to the darkness of his room. "I plainly refuse to be your herald." *****  
  
"Well, you've come to watch the spectacle..." Gaton said, by way of greeting. "Excellent, excellent."   
  
"There will be no spectacle here, Gaton Tair. Can't you feel it?" Gaton smiled.   
  
"Makton, my dear friend. Do you really think I'd let something as simple as a handful of mages stop me?" Gaton kept his voice amiable, but couldn't help himself from turning the word 'mages' into a snarl. "Just because your spell to drain magic has been undefeated doesn't mean its perfect. After all, you've never tried it on me before."  
  
"Oh, really?" Makton swept his long blonde hair from his face. "Fine." Several large clusters of crystal thrust their way through the stage to form a semicircle between the two of them. The rest od the mages watched inpassively as the crystals retreated back into the ground just as quickly as they came forth. "If you're so great, cancel it." Makton said as he opened one of his clenched fists, revealing a small vortex. He couldn't make it any bgger, such was the short coming of his power. The vortex could only grow to be the size of a pingpong ball, but no matter the size, a vortex was a vortex and did the same thing despite its size.  
  
Gaton took a deep breath as he felt the familiar buzz of magic leave the area. "You are a fool, unworthy of my attention. There's no magic involved in this step of the procedure. It's already begun Makton, and you're only speeding up the process."  
  
The older man looked at Gaton suspiciously.  
  
"I attached the spell the spell to Urib. It was set up to activate as soon as I came within 50 feet of him. That means it started before yours. THe beauty of it is that it has a delayed start. I anticipated that you'd use your magic, that vortex spell is your only one that's worth damn. You see, my spell feeds off of the magic stored in pocket dimensions like the ones that create vortexes. I call this kind of spell a catalyst spell."  
  
Gaton began walking towards the mages, smiling broadly. "It ties onto one unchangable power source- in this case, Urib. He feeds it a certain amount of energy until the first catalyst shows up. Me. Then it automatically begins drawing power from the stronger source, which we all know is me as well. The third catalyst has to be stronger than the other two, enough to make the spell strong enough to take over the absorbtion process on its own, enough that it can seek and absorb as much magic as it needs to fulfill its purpose. Thank you, sucker. You gave my spell the boost it needed. And yes, it gets better." Gaton smiled more widely as all the mages took a step back.  
  
"This spell releases everything inside the vortexes that isn't magic. All those fancy prisons of yours that hold the criminal mages... by the time this puppy gets rolling, they're all gone. Oops." Gaton shrugged carelessly. As he spoke, Urib disappered with a grateful smile and a puff of smoke. "Now. Do you want to know what my spell does?"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
"Well, looks like we're not too far from home."  
  
"Wy hasn't anything happened yet?"  
  
"Dunno. It's a nice view isn't it."  
  
"Who cares. Let's go home."  
  
"That's not really the best- did you feel that?"  
  
"I felt something, but what?"  
  
"Kinda like... well, I don't know. Like you had the fan on low and didn't even realize it until someone turned it off and you realized the breeze was gone."  
  
"You have a way with words, Mike."  
  
"THanks Raph, but the people who really need to demonstrate how art-ick-you-late they are..." Mike turned to the two humans with a swagger and let he sentence hang.  
  
"Oh, get off it." Casey said, though he looked slightly embarassed.  
  
There was a waft of smoke that blew right in their faces and suddenly Urib was in front of them.  
  
"Master!" Leo exclaimed.  
  
"Ah, good to see you again, my sons, and you too, April and Casey.   
  
"You found him! You got him back!" Suddenly Urib found himself being crushed in a bear hug, or turtle hug if you tend to take things literally.  
  
"Soon, Meltdown is moments away." Urib said as Raph let him go. Urib kneeled and spread his hand open, palm up as if he were holding a bowl. A small sphere appeared and began to pulse and grow brighter. Inside the ball, was a picture.  
  
"Hey, is that..."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
"gaton! You will not get away with this."  
  
"That's precisely what you think. There is no way to counter this spell and it has an unlimited amount of magic to work with. You don't even know what it does."  
  
"What? Tell me dammit!"  
  
There was the smell of ozone, like the air before a big storm or flash of lightening and a silver ball appeared between to two enemies.  
  
"Meltdown." THe ball was smaller than Makton's vortex, but was fueled by the power of a trillion vortexes hundreds of times larger that had had centuries to draw magic inside their endless bellies. "It's beautiful." The ball flashed and suddenly the stage they were all standing on sagged. The air around them filled with a ghastly moaning, as if the towers surrounding them were crying for help. "Bye." Gaton said. With a furious blast of wind, he was gone.  
  
"Meltdown?" Makton wondered aloud. He tapped his foot and looked down at the strange tone his boot made on the wood. his eyes strayed to the blacktop of the steet below, and audibly gasped. "Stone?" THere was a scream and the mages glanced around quickly to identity its location.  
  
THey never even saw the mass of iron and glass tumbling down on them.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
  
From their vantage point, the turtles, April, Casey, Splinter and Urib saw the whole thing in a fantastic panoramic view. Wihin the globe, they watched the silver ball pulse and then all looked expectantly towards the city to see what happened.  
  
THe whole city sank visibly into itself, as though the little ball was a burden too great for it to bear. The towers tottered dangerously for a split second and with a scream that shook them all to their cores, the city unceremoniously fell apart. The dust made a mushroom in the sky that all collected as a giant ball hovering above the remanants of NewYork. It pulsed, just like the little silver ball, and the next thing they knew, it exploded, hurling a wave of dust in all directions.  
  
"INTO THE TREES!" Urib yelled as he scooped up Splinter and dove for cover.  
  
They barely made it back before the wave blanketed them with dust. 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N  
  
Calling all muses... I repeat, calling all muses...  
  
This is getting harder than I thought it would be. Man, I have to work out a schedule or something, cause it's taking me too long to update. I'll try to do better, but I just didn't want to post another short chapter. They're just getting progressively worse, aren't they... Anyhow, my apologies to those of you who were waiting for me to update this story. I'm a jackass, I know.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Gaton stood atop an enourmous oak tree and watched mankind's downfall. In one glorious instant, the work of ages was undone. It was as simple as that. As he stoicly forced himself to bear witness, a part of him died along with that part of history. 'So many people...'  
  
"Gaton." Urib had found him. Of course. Urib was always there, or so it seemed. Gaton's brow creased as it occurred to him that maybe Urib wasn't as trustworthy as he made himself out to be. Gaton pushed the thought aside. He had analysed Urib as a threat a long time ago and come to the conclusion that Urib wouldn't betray him, and even if he did, would accomplish little. There was no need to worry further.  
  
"Yes, Urib."  
  
"What are we gonna do now?"  
  
"Survive."  
  
"How? Are we just going to abandon the people who survived?"  
  
"Those who are strong will find they're way to us. Those who aren't will not."  
  
"Gaton."  
  
"Yes, Urib."  
  
"That's one hell of a heartless thing to say."  
  
Gaton looked at Urib. "No it isn't. It's merely a fact. Do you know why this is neccessary?"  
  
"No, Gaton. I'm not sure I want to."  
  
"You're lieing to me. You know why because you had the dream too. It's alright though. I understand why you can't just come out and say it. Did you know that a man once wrote a book without using the letter E? I wonder how he managed that."  
  
"You'll never know."  
  
"True. Where are the others?"  
  
"Everyone's scattered. I left the Turtles and their friends back at the forest. They'll figure out what comes next."  
  
"Excellent. Send out the signal. The survivors will come, but only the strong will reach us."  
  
"If you say so, Gaton. If you say so." Urib's sad voice lingered in Gaton's ears.  
  
'I wish I could mourn with you, but it was either this or a slow tortured death of not just the people but the planet as well...' Gaton argued with himself, tried to see things happen differently. Eventually he decided that it wasn't worth the pain. What was done was done and one could only look to make the best of it.  
  
Still, he wondered what kind of world this would shape up to be.  
  
Thinking back, he would regret wondering that.  
  
***********************  
  
"Dude. I am dying. Can't we rest?"   
  
"Be strong, Mikey." April encouraged him.  
  
"Yeah, and don't be so loud or Raph and Casey will start again." Don said, looking up from where he was crouched by a tree.  
  
"You ladies hanging in back there?" Casey called. The group was spread over about fifty feet, but that wasn't enough room for his and Rapheal's egos. Their 'survival of the fittest' rants and going on about how 'this is what a slack training regimine does for you' was being to wear a bit thinly on the remaining turtles' nerves. Well, Leo was talking with Master Splinter- completely oblivious to the verbal abuse floating back and forth around them and Don was collecting samples from every damn bush he walked past, muttering weird formulas to himself and making wild exclamations every now and then. So that meant that the only person being offended by Casey and Raph was Mike, which meant that they probably were honestly concerned about him, but playing like they weren't. April sighed. Not even an in depth analysis of the turtles would make them any easier to read.  
  
"Yes, we're fine, but when are we going to take a break? Unlike you guys, I don't work out any more than I have to to maintain my ideal weight." She said for Mike's sake.  
  
"We'll look ahead and find a place." Raph said and he and Casey took off. Well, thought April. Now we know why they were asking if we needed a break every five minutes. They're tired too...  
  
"Does this mean we get a break?"  
  
"In a little while, Mike. Just hang in there."  
  
"Hey, the little things running in the trees are squirrels, right?" Don resurfaced from the world of... well, botany.  
  
"Yeah." Mike answered, he had been watching them for the longest now, since they were the only things other than them that was moving.  
  
"You remember seeing any in the city?"  
  
"Yep. All the time. There was this guy on the corner who would feed-"  
  
"Yeah, but weren't they much..."  
  
"smaller?" Mike finished, realization dawning on him. "And dude, aren't there like... things in the forest? Lions and tigers and bears..."  
  
"Maybe bears, but lions and tigers are a distinct improbability in this region. It rains too much."  
  
"Yeah, but wolves. And... stuff."  
  
"Wolves tend to avoid human contact."  
  
"Dude. We're turtles."  
  
"Which is why they'll definitely avoid us."  
  
"Oh. Okay."  
  
"Besides, we're ninja. We can defend ourselves against a few animals, I just thought it was strange the way animals seem to be bigger here."  
  
"It's unnatural."  
  
"Mikey, stop it."  
  
"But I'm bored. Dude. I'm hungry too." Mike was distracted by Casey and Rapheal returning.  
  
"There's a camp up ahead. Not many people, but we may want to avoid them."  
  
"Oh great, again? How many people could have survived that?" Michealangelo asked, all semblance of weariness gone.  
  
"I think we should see if they need some help." Donatello said unexpectedly. When everyone glared at him, he raised his hands defensively. "I mean, consider the average American... they're not as, well, outdoorsy as they like to think."  
  
"You want to go help them. Fine. Be my guest. Just keep walking straight." Rapheal said in a flat tone.  
  
"Yeah, and when they stone you, be a dear and die someplace close to the trees so we can collect your carcass easily." Casey added.  
  
"Oh ye of little faith." Donatello said bravely in the face of his brothers' smirks.  
  
"Uh, Don, let's be rational. You are... unique. And in times like these, well, people will be looking for someone to blame." April took Don's arm and led him off to the side a little. "And well, we are out in the country. People... well, turtles...ah..."  
  
"You're afraid that they'll take one look at me and say, Hey! Turtle soup! right? Relax. If they try to come after me, my turtle sense will tingle. Honestly, Master Splinter taught us well. If they pose a threat, I'll scram before anyone gets hurt."  
  
"Don..." April trailed off as Donatello jumped into a tree and sped towards the camp.  
  
"We better not let him make any more friends," Casey said morosely as he stared after Don. "Only God knows what trouble they'll get us into." He and Raph gave a pair of dramatic sighs and followed Don.  
  
"I hope they don't get into trouble." April said to Splinter.  
  
"Dude, I hope we don't get into trouble." Mike said as he watched a handful of silent shadows slinking throught the bushes. "Seriously, they need to hurry this up."  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Donatello knew that Casey and Rapheal would follow him, probably just in case things did get out of hand. Don paused right before he reached the clearing. He situated himslef so that he could see the camp without being seen, thankful for the cover that the trees gave him, and for the fact that he blended right in. He counted about fifteen people, three small children, a baby, five teenagers and six adults. They didn't look dangerous to him, they looked like they had been camping. Donatello kept watching as one of the teenagers, a male, casually rubbed his arm and said something to another teen. She looked around frantically and he gave abemused smirk before reaching underneath a bush and pulling a toddler out with a flourish like a magician. The girl immediately set to berating the child and the boy turned his attention to where the adults and other teens were huddled, probably trying to decide what to do next.  
  
Donatello hesitated.  
  
"You're not going out there now are you?" Casey said softly.  
  
"Now that I think about it, I should wait til dark, when I can get one of them to the side."  
  
"The blonde guy, there." Raph pointed. "He seems like he's got a level head, and the others listen to him."  
  
"That's what I was thinking, too. Who goes camping with a baby?" Don wondered out loud. That question was bothering him to no end.  
  
"Not a clue." Casey said. "But now that we've decided to come back later, we really need to find some supplies."  
  
"Okay. I guess the first thing would be to look for some berries that look recognizable."  
  
"As in, if you haven't seen it on the Food Network, it's not safe... got it. And, uh, there's a stream not far from here. If we can find a way to catch some fish, we'll be good to go."  
  
"What about a fire?"  
  
"That's a job for you and Leo. We'll catch the food. You cook it."  
  
Donatello sighed. "Fine."  
  
"Excellent. Let's go."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mike, Leo and Splinter were watching the bushes cautiously, fully expecting a pack of rabid wolves to jump out and attack them. Instead, Don, Raph and Casey dropped from the trees, startling whatever was in the shadows into retreating further into the darkness.  
  
"Dudes, you are so just in time. We were about to be dog chow!" Mike gave a sigh of relief and pointed to the bushes behind them.  
  
Donatello turned around and peered into the bushes. "There's nothing there."  
  
"We saw it, things moving around in the shadows."  
  
"Mike," Don said with the air of someone who was continuously amazed at the sheer amount of stupidity in the world. "Do you feel that?"  
  
"Feel what?" Mike breathed, lowering himself into a crouch and glanced around nervously.  
  
"The wind."  
  
"Oh. Yeah?"  
  
"You were looking at the shadows that the bushes and trees cast, Mikey. When the wind blew, they moved. The shadows moved too, Mikey..."  
  
"Oh. I totally knew that." Mikey said with a shrug as Splinter, Leonardo and April turned around to stare him down.  
  
"Give him a break, we're city boys, we'll make lots more mistakes before this is over." Casey said in Mike's defense.  
  
"Will it be over?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Okay. So, where are the campers?"  
  
"We thought we'd go back later." Raph answered.  
  
Donatello noticed that that was the second time he had said 'we,' but didn't say anything about it. Instead he suggested that they find food and, if possible, something to start a fire.  
  
Leo nodded briskly and began delagating tasks. No one was to go anywhere alone or without telling at least one person where they were going. By nightfall, they had a shelter built and a pretty decent supply of wood.  
  
Unfortunately, Mikey's attempts to create a fire with only two sticks of wood weren't going too well.  
  
"Are you sure you're doin' it right, Mikey? Why isn't anything happening?" Raph was wuickly losing his patience.  
  
"I dunno. It always works on TV."  
  
"I can't believe you really thought it would work. 'It always works on TV.' Ha."  
  
"Technically speaking, it should work. The friction from the sticks should heat up enough to start a small flame." Donatello shivered and inched a little closer to Master Splinter.  
  
"So make more friction, Mike. It can't be that hard if Don can explain it so we understand."  
  
"Dude, back up off me. This is harder than it looks." Mike threw the sticks down. "The Friction-Maker must be broken."  
  
"The what?"  
  
"You know. The thing that makes friction."  
  
"Mikey."  
  
"Shhhh. Maybe if we're quiet, the fire faries will come out and OWWWWW!! DUDE, THAT SO TOTALLY HURT!!!!"  
  
"That was the point." Raph said as he dropped the sticks back on the pile and stalked away, leaving Mike to rub the pair of stick shaped bruises on his head.  
  
"Isn't there another way to light a fire?" April asked.  
  
There was an ominous rumble and a bright flash of light.  
  
"Ask and ye shall recieve." Michaelangelo smiled widely. "I told ya the faries would come. Hurry up Raph. Let's get some fire while it's hot."  
  
"Uh. Do the words 'Forest Fire' mean anything to you, bro?"  
  
"Huh?" Mike looked back at the fire which was spreading at a phenomenal rate. "Man, they are good."  
  
"Let's get out of here. NOW." Leo helped Master Splinter to his feet while the others beat a path upwind of the fire.  
  
"Wait!" Don cried suddenly and half turned back towards the fire. "Those people, they're still back there!"  
  
"Let's worry about our people now. Once we find a safe place we can worry about other people." The roar of fire was so loud that they were practically screaming at each other. The heat was enough to shake even Donatello out of the lethargy brought on by the cold, but placed them in a type of danger just as deadly. When Donatello hesitated, eyes still turned towards the human camp, Leo grabbed his arm and roughly pushed him towards the others, who had stopped when they noticed the three missing. "You'll forget it now, whether I have to carry you kicking and screaming the whole way." A tree fell in the background, sending a shower of sparks over them. Leo let go of Splinter and squared off against Don. "Move it. It's your fault we're out here in the first place, your friend who destroyed our entire city and now you want to drag us all to our deaths. It's not enough that we're homeless in dead winter. We have to run through a forest fire to save a bunch of humans who are probably perfectly safe wherever the Hell they are. Now isn't the time for you to run off and make more friends."  
  
Donatello stood staring at his brother for a full minute in shock.  
  
"My sons." Master Splinter's voice could barely be heard. "My sons, this is not a battle to be waged now. Let us leave this place. There is no more that we can do." Another tree fell, closer this time, and Don turned without a word. Splinter sighed deeply, thankful that the moment had passed without him losing a son. Until it occured to him that maybe he had. 


	5. Chapter 5

Gaton awoke to the sounds of an intruder. He lay still in his bed and pretended to sleep while stretching his consciousness as far as possible to pinpoint the stranger who was even then going through his belongings. THe sound was coming from somewhere near his desk...  
  
Gaton carefully slid and old tire iron from underneath his pillow and slipped off the bed. As he crouched beside it, he quickly arranged the pillows so it looked like he hadn't moved at all. The mysterious figure stopped it's rummaging and tiptoed over to the bed. A dark, gloved hand waved in front of where Gaton's face would have been. After getting no response, a long finger tapped the blanket experimentally and jerked away quickly. The stranger looked around the room briefly and shrugged. Gaton rolled his eyes and prepared to crawl behind the stranger when he saw something moving right in front of him. He froze and stared for a second before he realized that it was his reflection in his floor length mirror.  
  
But that meant that the intruder could see him too.  
  
Gaton watched the figure in the mirror as it gently reached out to pull the blankets back. Right as it lifted the sheets, Gaton leapt off the floor and swung the tire iron, praying that there was only one intruder and that he had caught this one by surprise.  
  
Considering his lineage, he didn't really expect much anyway.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The camp was quiet. Even the spattering of the fire seemed subdued. No one bothered breaking the silence and hostility that hung like heavy drapes across the backs of the friends. Well, no one who really mattered anyway...  
  
"And then he says that there's absolutely no way that he's gonna do anything like that because there's so totally nothing in it for him, right? Well, be that as it may, Christobal had a ace up his sleeve and do you know what that was? Huh?"  
  
Michealanglo, the ~special~ son, was trying his damnedest to act oblivious to the hate-filled glared that Raph was giving Donatello and Leonardo. Leonardo was pretendng to sleep and Donatello was successfully ignoring everything around him. Ever since the two had had the falling out back in the forest, the group had been torn in a million different directions. Splinter and April just wanted them to resolve the problem while Raph and Casey were looking for someone to blame and coming up empty. Mikey wanted only one thing, and that was for things to be the way they were before Gaton showed up.  
  
"Look." Michealangelo said, giving up completely on his narraration of some obsure movie whose title even he had forgotten. "I think we should start over. You know, from the beginning."  
  
"Great idea genius. I was just about to suggest we start over from the end." Raph said. Mike ignored him and continued.  
  
"Don, I know you feel like we're all bustin' your chops here, but ya gotta understand, this is all so sudden and all. And..." Mikey looked around the fire waiting for someone to pick up the thread like they usually did, but no one said a word. "What I mean is, who is this guy and how come you never told us about him?"  
  
"That's not the real question here, Mikey. The real one is, what else have you not told us and how much trouble are the rest of your little secrets going to get us in?" Leonardo said as he sat up and stared pointedly at Donatello.  
  
"Yeah? Well what I wanna know is what any of that's got to do with us bein' out here instead of at home where we belong. I'm still trying to figure out why Don went all weird on us earlier." Raph tossed another half burnt twig on the fire. After escaping the forest, they had gleaned what they could from the ashes. It made a ton of smoke, but it beat being cold.  
  
"Isn't it obvious? Don was out making friends, making us think he was sick when he was really sneaking out to plan how best to ruin our lives with that freak." Leo lay back down and gazed blankly at the stars.  
  
Everyone else looked at Donatello and waited for him to say something, but he was chasing ants in circles with a stick and completely tuning them out.  
  
"C'mon guys. When did things get so out of hand? When did we stop being a family and start being enemies?" Michealangelo asked.   
  
Raph snorted and glared around the fire and noticed how April and Casey were trying their hardest to look invisible. "I guess, we lost something. Our trust... our confidence..."  
  
"and our way, my sons." Splinter interupted. "Please, do not let this one bump in the road break us apart. We are a family and families stick together."  
  
"How about a compromise, huh? We'll look for those humans first thing in the morning. Then, if they don't panic and die of heart attacks, we'll all travel together." Mike made a feeble attempt to remedy things between his brothers.  
  
"Fine by me." Raph said, though the chances of the humans surviving were slim and they would only slow the turtles down.  
  
"Whatever." Leonardo snarled. "It's not like we could stop Donatello without using force anyway." Splinter winced at Leo's tone.  
  
"Hey, let's not go there." April spoke up. "How about it Don? Is that okay with you?"  
  
Donatello gave no indication of having heard. He just kept chasing ants and marvelling at how they ran in circles almost without even realising it.   
  
"Damn circles." He whispered.  
  
Damn circles indeed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
His name was Matthew Sparks. Right now he was cursing every one of the gods he had ever read about at the poisonous irony. How the Hell did he end up in a forest with a camper full of kids and old people? Interesting question. It all had to do with a girl.   
  
Not just any girl, but the Number One Girl of His Life kinda girl.  
  
She was having puppies.  
  
It wasn't really a big deal, dogs have puppies all the time, so long as the gender and timing is right, but when a St. Bernard has puppies, well, something has to go. Matt could deal with that. He had enough work taking care of Eliza, nevermind a trio of puppies as well.   
  
Unfortunately, his step-dad didn't want any animals at all.  
  
He wasn't even Matt's step-father really. He hadn't married his Mom yet, but was already trying to change their lives.  
  
Not even the tears of a kid with more milage to his mind than his body and a heart of stone could sway Jeremiah Thompson, and Eliza and her puppies were sold.  
  
'On the internet. As if she was just a cheap pooltable to sell on E-Bay.'  
  
The sheer injustice of it sent Matthew into a seething, simmering rage that drowned everything else out. He went to bed the night after and decided that he didn't have to put up with it. The next day, instead of going to school, he packed a lunch and grabbed his lifesavings and diary and left.  
  
It would have worked fine, except he had decided to take a short cut through the woods and found this family of campers. They were trying to start a fire with, of all things, two sticks. Matthew had watched them for half an hour before he interupted. He hadn't said anything. He just used his lighter to start the fire and then walked away. He made it three steps before his vision distorted and blurred everything around him. It was gone a second later.   
  
Matthew wouldn't have thought anything of it if he hadn't heard a strange scream behind him. He turned around just in time to see the RV fall to pieces on top of one of the campers. Everyone stared at the pile of rubble for a moment before the guy underneath crawled from underneath a sheet of what looked like tin.  
  
"I'm okay, I'm okay. Wow. Freak accident, huh? I guess bad luck follows me everywhere, huh? Right guys?"  
  
He looked pretty rattled and Matt honestly couldn't blame him, but the idea of being crushed by an RV that randomly fell apart was novel to him.  
  
"A collapsable RV. I'm impressed. But, next time you buy something that does all sorts of neat tricks like that, keep your receipt."  
  
A few of the campers gave weak laughs at that before a rumbling sound filled the clearing. They all started and tried to find the source of the sound.  
  
"Whoa. Forest fire." someone said and pointed towards a huge black plume of smoke rising in the sky.  
  
"But the city's that way." Another answered.  
  
THere was silence. "So what now?" a blonde teenaged girl asked.  
  
"Yeah, what now?"  
  
Matt had already turned in the direction opposite of the city and begun walking when he felt a hand on his arm. He jerked away and glared at the offender.  
  
"Please, you have to help us." the blonde girl whispered, eyes tearing up.  
  
Matthew stared at her blankly before he realized that all the damn campers were looking at him as if he knew exactly what to do.  
  
"This sucks." he muttered as he looked the camp over. A stong wind swept by and shook the trees. "Hey, are we missing a kid?"  
  
The girl looked around frantically and began calling to the missing toddler. Matt smirked and pulled it from underneath a bush nearby.   
  
"The first thing we need is more wood for the fire. How's the other RV holding out?"  
  
One of the grownups nodded vigorously. "Well, it's still in one piece." He said with a grin. Matt realized that he was the unfortunate person who had been squished by the other RV. He looked like the kind of hopeless dad who would drag his whole family and neighbors out on a camping trip for some bonding time.  
  
"So it's not collapsable?" Matt asked, just to be sure.  
  
"Well, the other one wasn't suposed to be, but," he tapped the side of the remaining RV. "This one-"  
  
CRASH!  
  
Matthew took a deep breath and gestured for the others to help him lift the RV off of the poor guy. "How about you just sit in that corner by the fire and don't touch anything?"  
  
"Yeah," he said shakily. "Maybe... that's best."  
  
"What's your name anyway?" Matt asked as he kicked the thin metal sheet and listened to the sound it made.  
  
"Elliot Stars. This is my wife, Maria, and my kids, Elizabeth and Benjamin." Elizabeth was the blonde girl and Benjamin was the toddler who was once again hiding. "And, ah, this is Johnathan, my daughter's, ah, friend." Matt looked at Johnathan. The guy was covered in tattoos and wearing tight black clothes. Matt tried not to make any judgements right away, but made up his mind to not get caught alone anywhere near this... Johnathan.   
  
"And I'm Marcus Kletch." a bald man spoke up. "My wife, Janice, our twins, Annie and Able. This is my brother and his wife, Phillip and Lynn Kletch. Their daughter, Brittany, and her boyfriend, Shamal."  
  
"And..." Matt gestured towards the baby.  
  
"Brittany's."  
  
"So you must be the father." Matt said to Shamal.  
  
"No. That would be the Fuck over there that calls itself Johnathan." Shamal growled.  
  
"Oh." Matt thought for a second. "Like I was saying, get what food you can and wood. I'll try to figure out what the devil is going on with the RVs."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Two hours later, Matt had come to a single conclusion.  
  
Something weird was going on.  
  
"Everyone back?" He asked. After a quick headcount, he nodded. "Does anyone have a CD I can borrow?"  
  
Johnathan threw a case to Matt and after muttering a thanks, Matt pulled out a CD and held it up so that the light of the fire shone through it. "Just as I suspected. It's made of glass."  
  
A chorus of 'what?' and 'why' hailed him.  
  
"It's like this, something happened. I'm not sure what, but basically, everything plastic has turned into glass and metals have turned into stuff like iron and tin and I don't know what else to say about that."  
  
"But. That doesn't make any sense." Elliot said.  
  
"Did I say it did?" Matt asked a bit more sharply than he had intended. Well, not by much since the man was getting on his last nerves, but Matt got the impression that he scared everyone else as well. "Look... do you smell that? Did one of you put green wood in that fire?" Matt rubbed his temples and took a deep breath that set him coughing. It took him a minute to recover and when he did it took a while to register what he saw before him.  
  
"What?" Elizabeth asked.  
  
"Grab the kids and the food. We need to get out of here now." Matt sputtered as he stuffed cloth packages of chips and pretzels into a bookbag. "C'mon, move it. We don't have much time!" The night was being lit by an eerie red light.  
  
They escaped the clearing just in time. Once the fire hit the totalled RVs with the gasoline still inside, the fire raged worse than before.  
  
It was either luck or divine intervention that saved them that night. They stumbled into a cave, or rather, Elliot fell into it. They had stayed there for the rest on the night and the day afterwards.  
  
"Okay, we should get moving." Matt said to the campers.  
  
"But it's night." Elliot muttered as he rose to his feet and helped his wife up.  
  
"We've been here all day." Matt responded.  
  
"So?" Elliot asked, more bold since Matt hadn't hurt him yet.  
  
Matt took a deep breath. 'So... I can only take so much of your aimless babbling' he thought to himself. Out loud, though, he said, "So, I'm, getting claustrophobic."  
  
"Oh." the idiot took that as an answer and the group left the cave.  
  
They had wandered for about three hours when Matt noticed a plume of smoke. "Stay here." He warned his followers as he handed Johnathan his bag. Matthew picked his way to the spot carefully.  
  
When he came back to the group a half hour later, he was totally floored.  
  
"What? What's wrong? What happened?" Elliot asked.  
  
"Are any of you afraid of reptiles?"  
  
"Reptiles? Well, I hate snakes." Elliot said and just about everyone else agreed.  
  
"How about... turtles?"  
  
"Turtles? Oh they're so cute... I had one once. My pa killed him and fixed him up nice, but he was cute while he was alive."  
  
Matt looked at Elliot strangely for a second.  
  
"How about..." his voice broke. "giant rats?"  
  
"Do you really need to ask?"   
  
"Heh. Well. I, ah, found some other campers. But, uh, they've got a massive rat with them. And turtles."  
  
The rest of the group looked from one to the other.  
  
"I can deal with just one massive rat." Marcus said and looked around for support.  
  
"Yeah. If it's just one..." his wife agreed. "I can handle that. It's better than wandering around out here."  
  
One by one, the rest of the group concurred.  
  
"Okay then. Stay here. I'll go first and talk to them. Don't come any closer." Matt looked them all in the eye to make sure they understood. After a few encouraging nods from the adults, he sped away.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	6. Chapter 6

After whispering a word of encouragement to himself, Gaton swung the tire iron at the intruder's head.  
  
"Figures." He muttered as the stranger caught the slim rod of metal and ripped it from his hands.  
  
"I didn't know you were awake." The stranger said as he stepped away from the bed. "I take it your magic hasn't returned yet."  
  
"Who wants to know?" Gaton asked cautiously.  
  
"Don't tell me you don't recognize me."  
  
"Okay, I won't."  
  
A flame appeared in the fireplace and illuminated the sorry wooden cabin. "It's me, Urib..."  
  
"Huh?" Gaton stared at the intruder's face in the flickering light. It definitely looked like Urib, but why would he be sneaking around in the middle of the night? As long as Gaton couldn't use his magic, he was at the stranger's mercy anyway.  
  
"Why do you have all your stuff scattered around? I nearly killed myself trying to find my way around."  
  
"I have it like this so people who break in will make lots of noise and alert me to their presence." Actually, he was just messy, but there was no reason to let the stranger know that.  
  
"Clever, except a theif would bring their own light. I was expecting something to light up when I came in. Do you have any flint? I thought there would be some on the desk, but I couldn't find any."  
  
"Why would you need flint?" Gaton asked, still suspicious.  
  
"To start a fire. You know I don't use magic unless I have to."  
  
"Yep, you are definitely Urib. Ugh. You must be the only mage who would work all night for something you could get in a second with your magic." Gaton walked to the fireplace and tossed two logs inside. "So, start thinking. What's wrong with me?"  
  
"Hmmm. Should I start with the way you dress or your sense of humor?"  
  
"It can't be worse than yours."  
  
Urib smiled. "It'sprobably just taking you a while to recover from that vortex. I was helpless for a few days afterwards too. Next time we're near one of those, we'll have to remember that it's a bad idea to try to use our magic while it's being sucked away."  
  
"Good point. So I'm pretty much worthless until this wears off?"  
  
"I could say that you've always been worthless, but that wouldn't be nice of me."  
  
"You're in rare form today. What have you been up to?"  
  
"Counting survivors. There's well over three million left."  
  
"For now."  
  
"True. The weather's getting bad and soon the food's going to run out. I've calculated that at least half of them will die from exposure within the first few months."  
  
"Uh huh. Good news?"  
  
"Well," Urib thought about it for a moment. "A lot of the contamination has been removed, as well as the pollution. I took the liberty of removing as much of the radioactive materials from the open as possible, but a few patches are still lying around. Oh, your friend, Donatello, is still alive. The bad news is that he's had a falling out with his brothers and is pretty much ignoring them now. Not good considering where they are, but it could be worse."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, I suppose time and a bit of compromise could patch things up between them. Until that happens though, the group isn't going to get much done in the way of travelling. There seemed to have been a power struggle involving Donatello and Leonardo."  
  
"Leonardo? I don't recall meeting him, but oh well. Who won?"  
  
"No one and that's the trouble. The leadership is being pulled in too many directions."  
  
"They'll handle it. How are the mages doing?"  
  
"They're mad as Hell, but they aren't going to do anything. They think you still have full control of your powers."  
  
"Good. I hope they return before everyone figures out that I'm running dry. That would be very bad."  
  
"It might completely ruin everything. I'm sure there are tons of mages out there who would take this as an opportunity to enslave the humans who remain."  
  
"True enough." Gaton stared blankly into the fire for a moment. "I'm too tired to plot. You can have the couch if you want it."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Tomorrow... something important will happen tomorrow." Gaton muttered. "I just can't think of what."  
  
"Don't worry. It'll work itself out, Gaton."  
  
"Of course. It always does, doesn't it?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Donatello glanced at his brothers, all huddled around the fire. They just didn't understand... Come to think of it, neither did he, but at least he was trying. Raphael looked up and their eyes locked for about a second. Donatello gave a semi shrug and turned his eyes back on the ants. He thought about those humans back in the charred remains of the woods and wondered what would have happened if he had just gone out and introduced himself to them. The truth was that even though he had wanted to help them, he was afraid. Aside from April and Casey (and maybe Shredder) Donatello had no experience with humans. Gaton only looked human and Don made it a point to never chat any longer with the pizza guy than he had to. Besides the all-too-clear vibes that he remembered getting from April when the turtles first found her in the sewers, there was a sort of primal fear in Donatello that said that humans were bad. Even before his first brush with humans, a voice in the back of his head had told him that they were dangerous creatures that were best left alone. Donatello sighed. 'The problem is, my head says one thing and my heart says another. Why can't they all just get along?'  
  
Don gave that last thought a moment of contemplation and then grinned. 'I think I know what Mikey's problem is; he can't keep thoughts like that to himself.'  
  
Across the fire, Raphael watched his brothers. Leonardo was using a rock to scratch words on a big stone near their makeshift campsite. 'Probably planning what to do next. I wish him luck.' Michelangelo was fast asleep, or at least doing an admirable job pretending. And Donatello...  
  
Don was smiling vaguely to himself and looked as though he were about to start laughing. Maybe that was a good sign, Raph thought. Maybe Don would start acting like Don again. But it was no use. As suddenly as the smile had appeared, it was gone and Donatello was as unreadable as before.  
  
Raphael gave the fire a ferocious jab since Splinter would have had his head if he did the same to Don and Leo. Even though they deserved it for acting so stupid. Don was smart enough that he could manipulate Leo to do what he wanted- Raph knew because he had gone to Donatello more than once and convinced him to trick Leo into seeing things Raph's way. So why the big fight? The easy answer was Gaton, but the problem had started before Gaton showed up. Gaton was just the catalyst who set things off. If he hadn't shown up things would have ended up just as bad, though they'd probably be comfortable in their sewer instead of running around outside. Raph poked the fire again. In his mind, he saw things the way they should have been and how they would end up. It wasn't a pretty sight.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Matthew stood there and watched them. One smiled for a second and then went back to thinking whatever was going on in its mind. Another glared around periodically and jabbed a knife into the fire. The third of the turtle-looking people-things was scribbling words onto a rock as though there were no tomorrow. Matt looked for the fourth and grinned. The fourth one was dead asleep and managing to look so comfortable on that hard ground that Matt wondered if these turtle-men weren't part cat as well. There was a girl who was whispering something to a guy who looked like he ate nails for breakfast and the giant rat was leaning against a big rock. Matthew took a deep breath and prepared to step into the open when a loud scream sent him scrambling for a hiding place.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Mikey! Mikey! Wake up you idiot!!"  
  
Michelangelo sat up and gasped for breath.   
  
"It was just a nightmare, Mikey. It's alright. We're here."  
  
Part of Mikey tried to figure out who was talking. One of his brothers, that was for sure. "So?" He whispered more to himself than anyone. "What good is that?"  
  
"Mikey? Wanna talk about it?" That was April speaking. Mike shook his head. Some dreams weren't meant to be told.  
  
After a few deep breaths and assurances from Mikey that he was alright, everyone settled back down. Mike huddled close to the fire and watched them all go back to their former positions. Something occurred to him.  
  
They all came when he was in trouble. All of them.  
  
Even Don and Leo.  
  
Mike sat by the fire and let that sink in.  
  
What was it that Master Splinter once told them? The weakness in one brings out the strength in all?  
  
Michelangelo glanced at Don. He was still messing around with those ants, but there was something else about the way he was just laying there. Don was watching Mikey.  
  
Suddenly, the whole plan came together in Mikey's mind with horrible simplicity. The weakness in one...  
  
From the shadows, Matt watched the whole thing, aware that something was wrong with the dynamics of the group in front of him, but not sure what was off.  
  
"Is this a good idea?" He asked himself aloud for the first time. He took one last calming breath and stepped into the open.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Elliot sighed for the thousandth time and tried cracking his knuckles. It hurt. A lot. He wondered how Shamal could do it so easily. He also wondered how Johnathan could just ignore it. Besides sounding painful, the cracking knuckle thing made Shamal look like one of those people you read about in the PETA news-flyers who abused puppies and drowned kittens. Or maybe the other way around. In fact, the more time that Elliot spent with Shamal, the more he realized that he really preferred Johnathan in all his tattooed, yet still strangely feminine glory.  
  
Elliot snuck a glance at Johnathan. He was listening to Benjamin recount how the camper fell on top of Elliot the day before. It was strange, Elliot thought, that someone who looked as freakish as Johnathan would be so good with kids and swear up and down that they hated people younger than twelve. And on the other hand was Shamal- who looked as normal as you could ask for- and not only did kids hate him, but he killed defenseless little kittens.   
  
"It's not right, I tell you. It's just not right!" He shouted and then glowered at everyone. Except Johnathan, who must surely spend his free time saving little animals, besides volunteering at hospitals. Wonderful boy, that Johnathan, even though he looked... different.  
  
"Daddy? Are you okay?" Elizabeth asked Elliot.   
  
"Of course, dear. I'm fine." Elliot smiled at his daughter (brilliant girl, finding such excellent husband material in such an unlikely place). He then smiled at Johnathan. This trip wasn't so bad, he decided. Now if only that boy would get back...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Um. Hi." Matthew just stood there, waiting for one of them to say something, knowing that he lost about two hundred cool points from the start.  
  
"Er... yeah. Hi."  
  
Matthew grinned. Okay, so if he was two hundred in the hole, so were they. "Is there room for one more?"  
  
"Always, dude." Matthew walked up to the fire. He told himself not to stare, but he really couldn't help it.   
  
He had gotten a pretty good look at the turtles from his hiding place, in fact he had barely noticed the other three people at the fire. He kind of wished he'd paid a bit more attention before. The girl was stunning. She had red hair and green eyes and looked like she was permanently attached to the dark haired guy at her side.  
  
"Well, this is a change. Usually people stare at you guys, not us." The guy said.  
  
With a certain degree of sadness, Matthew realized that he was one of those bully types. Too bad. Bullies were especially touchy about their girls.  
  
"So, where'd you come from?" One of the turtles asked. Matthew reluctantly turned his eyes from the girl to the one who spoke, although he had a bit of difficulty telling one from another. He stared for a second, trying to tell them apart. The one closest to the fire laughed. "Dude, sorry. I'm Michelangelo. To your left is Donatello and the one with the rock is Leonardo. And that-" Michelangelo pointed to the turtle with the knives. "is Raphael. Over here we have the lovely Ms. April and Raph's partner in crime-"  
  
"That's crime bustin' to you." The guy said.  
  
"Yeah, as if we believe that." Michelangelo countered and then dived to the side as the still unnamed man threw a rock at him.   
  
"The name's Casey. And this is Master Splinter. So, now that that's done. Who are you?"  
  
"My name is Matthew Sparks."  
  
"Yeah, great and all. But who are you? One of the Foot? Or someone else sent to hit us while we're weak?" Raph said and glared at Matt.  
  
"Uh... what? Am I a foot?" Matt looked at his shoes. Somehow he gathered that that was not what the dangerous looking turtle meant.  
  
"He's one of the humans from the campsite we found." Donatello said. "Which means that the others might be alive too."  
  
"Well, yeah, we're all alive. Kind of lost, kind of scared, but alive."  
  
Donatello looked as though he wanted to say something, but he paused and glanced at the one named Leonardo.  
  
"So where are they?" Leonardo asked.   
  
"Knowing them, they've gone and wandered somewhere. But they should be close."  
  
"How close?"  
  
"You know that big pile of rocks towards the east?"  
  
"That's where they are?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Alright. Stay here. Mikey, stay here and don't do anything stupid." Leo warned.   
  
Mikey just grinned. He had no intention of doing anything stupid. Not really anyway.  
  
As soon as his brothers had left with Casey, Michelangelo turned to Matt. "So... have you ever seen "Revenge of the Potato Spuds from Hell?"  
  
Matt blinked. "Are you serious? That's got to be my favorite movie."  
  
April and Splinter looked at each other, more than a little nervous.   
  
"You don't think they're being serious, do you?" April asked Splinter. He didn't say a word. "Oh, dear."  
  
April decided that it was better to just let Mikey and Matt bond. Raph and Leo would keep them from doing anything... extreme.  
  
"And then the part where they went woooooooooooshoooooooooooshBOOM!"  
  
"Yes! I loved that part and after the first Spuds get into their spaceships..."  
  
"Oooooh. That was awesome, I almost wet my pants..."  
  
"And I loved the end where the little spuds were crawling through the portal."  
  
"Did you see the sequel?"  
  
"Did I?! It was soooooooo coooooool."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


End file.
